


Calamity

by jitterygummy



Series: The Calm Series [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Redeemed Kylo Ren, things never go as planned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:34:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 43,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21925243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jitterygummy/pseuds/jitterygummy
Summary: After the events of Calm, Rey and Kylo just want to settle down with their family, but a new force rises that threatens everything they know. Sequel to Calm. Reposted.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: The Calm Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1578901
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Injury

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Calamity! This is a sequel to my work Calm, which I strongly recommend you read first to get context of this future universe and the original characters. This story has been reposted after I previously deleted it, and the universe was written before TLJ and TROS. Hope you enjoy!

Heavy, throbbing music vibrated through Kylo as he scanned the crowd. Members of more species than he was even aware existed thrashed and jumped in a hypnotic dance under the flashing, multi-colored lights. Kylo was sure if he had been as intoxicated as nearly everyone else, he would not have noticed the smell of spilled substances mixed with sweat and whatever the green-skinned being was secreting near the edge of the crowd.

A young human woman flitted near him, her brunette hair done in intricate braids. Sweat wore at the glitter and face paint, and a black dress fitted to her chest and torso before flaring out from her hips. A tall Cerean touched her shoulder and whispered in her ear, and she swayed slightly as if she had drunk too much. As she passed, Kylo caught her low voice through the Force, "Dance? Yeah. You look more fun than the weird tall guy in the corner."

The thought of joining in the crowd almost made Kylo want to stab himself with the lightsaber concealed in his jacket. He sucked in a deep breath and failed to ignore the smell of the room as he stepped away from the condensation-covered wall. He slipped into the pulsating jumble of beings, his entire body vibrating with the beat of the music. The beings around him moved out of his way with the music until a group of women converged on him.

One, a Twi'lek with deep blue skin, pressed a disposable cup into his hand and ran her small hand over his arm. "You look like you could loosen up."

Kylo held a hand up, silently cursing himself for not wearing gloves. He had no desire to loosen up, much less with a Twi'lek. "I don't – "

"Play with us!" One of the human women tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder and danced up close to him. "We help a lot of security guards have a little fun."

An orange hand knocked the cup out of Kylo's hand, spilling the alcohol that was probably laced with illegal substances over his boots. A Togruta with paint over his montrals and lekku raised his brow at Kylo. "If you can't have fun with these ladies, I'll take over."

The women giggled, and the Twi'lek pressed up against the Togruta. Kylo leaned down slightly as he moved away to catch a whisper, "Hidden entrance in the corner."

Kylo brushed his hand over the Togruta's back lekku and ran his newly paint-covered hand through his hair, letting the paint stick to part of his face. He melded back into the shadows of the wall and made his way to the corner.

A young woman leaned against the wall, twisting the colorful scarf that covered her head around her index finger. The black markings that accented her green skin reflected different colors off the flashing lights and wrinkled as she smiled at the Trandoshan leaning in front of her. She reached out and touched his arm, running her hand over his bare orange skin gently. He said something in a low, gruff voice, and she hung onto his arm as they retreated into the corner. The lights of the dance floor blared bright with the music, and the wall slid open as a narrow door. Kylo raced forward, slipping through the entrance behind the Trandoshan and Mirialan.

Although the lights were dim, Kylo blinked rapidly to adjust from the flashing multi-colored lights from the other room. He slipped into a corner, pulling the Force around him to make any beings think he was a shadow. A hall lay to his right, and Kylo watched the Mirialan disappear through one of the many curtains that dotted the hall. He cast out with the Force, feeling above the mass of people in the club the beacons of four other Force-sensitives in the building. He slipped a hand into his jacket and wrapped his hand around the hilt of his lightsaber. The Force prickled around him as he pushed back the third curtain, and he froze.

The Trandoshan held a blaster to the Mirialan's head, who stared at the wide, orange face with a terrified expression. A human man sat on a deep purple couch, his legs crossed as he sipped from a glass. A smile that did not reach his eyes dimpled his copper skin. He set the glass on the wooden table in front of him and gestured for Kylo to sit. "Now, you didn't expect me not to notice when a person so notorious enters my club, did you, Master Kylo Ren? Although I must admit, the paint in your hair is a nice touch." He waved a hand lazily, and a young female Twi'lek dressed in expensive clothes moved forward to refill the glass with a bottle clutched in her green hands. "Can I offer you some Port of Storm?"

Kylo eyed the dark wood of the table. Such material was rare on Coruscant since the planet was almost entirely a city. It would have been imported from a woody planet like Kashyyyk, which would have cost more than the reasonable amount for a simple table. "You didn't expect to run criminal operations without the Jedi noticing, did you, Karsted Vanis?"

Vanis raised an eyebrow and picked up his glass again. "I thought that was Coruscant law enforcement's job, not yours. None of my employees are carrying glowing swords."

"No, but _you_ are using the Force to manipulate people such as this young woman into slavery." Kylo gestured to the Mirialan, whose lower lip quivered as her eyes darted to Vanis and back to the Trandoshan.

Vanis scoffed and took a drink. "The Force? I thought you being the expert on all things mystical would know that anybody who can use it would be in your little group, not running a humble night club."

Kylo took a step closer to Vanis, pulling the saber hilt out of his jacket. "Some go undetected, especially with that pesky war a few years ago. Now, I'm sure the Senate security committee would be _very_ interested to know what you've been doing, and you know how well they receive Force sensitives. So, come with me quietly, and I'll be sure this remains a solely a Jedi matter."

"I don't know what you're talking about, _Ren,_ but if you try anything, I'll be sure that my friends in the Senate – and I have many – conduct more inquiries into how you're influencing, _living_ with those new Jedi." Vanis ran a finger over the rim of the glass. "Or perhaps they'd be interested to know how often you go to see the little Padawan that fell?"

Kylo raised an eyebrow and took another step to tower over Vanis even with the table between them. "The Senate has learned to back away from my private life. They are perfectly aware of our arrangements. I suggest you take my offer before you make a mistake with me because of your inexperience in the Force."

Vanis uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. "Then I propose a counteroffer. I move my operations to the Outer Rim, and you get the girls I recruited this month, including this pretty one." He nodded to the trembling Mirialan with a hungry look that made a dormant anger in Kylo's stomach burn. "We'll stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine. Everyone's happy."

Kylo tightened his grip on his saber. A part of him that spoke in Rey's voice said not to ignite it, or he would not use it just to intimidate. "I'm afraid I didn't give you the opportunity of a counteroffer. Now, tell your employee to lower the blaster and come with me."

Vanis gave a long sigh and handed his glass to the Twi'lek. "I'm sorry that you can't be more reasonable, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised knowing your reputation. Perhaps if you see how serious I am?"

He flicked a finger toward the Trandoshan, and the Force screamed around Kylo. He turned as if in slow motion to see the orange finger squeeze the trigger. The Mirialan moved faster. Her hand disappeared into her dress for a split second before a blue lightsaber deflected the blaster bolt. It hit the Trandoshan's thick leg, and he went to the floor with a howl. All traces of the scared young woman were gone as she held the humming saber over the scaled head.

Kylo ignited his own saber, the thrill of an impending fight thrumming through his body and pushing down the anger. "I'm afraid Teela's already with me."

Vanis hesitated, the light of the blue and purple sabers reflecting in his dark eyes darting between them. The Force's scream heightened into a shriek, and Kylo shoved his hand out. Teela fell several meters to collapse next to the low couch in time to miss the wooden shards of the table as it ripped apart.

Kylo flew backwards from the force of the exploding table, hitting the Trandoshan on his way down. Sharp pains shot through his chest and stomach. He pulled himself to his knees, watching Teela take off after Vanis. His hand slipped in something wet, and he looked down to see two pieces of the table lodged in the right side of his stomach and chest. Blood glistened on his dark clothes, but the shards were not big. He pulled on the Force within him and wrapped it around the wounds to contain the pain before he held out his hand for his lightsaber.

He ran in the direction Teela had gone, igniting his blade as he saw her blocking shots from several other Trandoshans that stood in a line to block the hall. Some of the blaster fire turned toward him, and he lifted his arm to deflect the bolts back toward their attackers.

Vanis neared a door at the end of the hall and looked back, catching Kylo's eye with an arrogant smirk. The door slid to the side, and the man nearly ran into the young woman with intricately braided hair and glitter on her face. She leaned against the doorframe, casually flipping a crossguarded lightsaber hilt in the air. "Karsted Vanis. I'm Jessika. I think you met my master already?"

Vanis backed away so fast that he almost tripped over his own feet. He turned into another curtained room that must have contained another exit because he backed out as quickly as he entered. The Togruta with paint decorating his lekku stepped out after him. He smiled, flashing white teeth against orange-red skin. "Should've taken our master's advice, or at least learned to use the Force properly."

The Trandoshans turned, each aiming their blasters at one of the four Jedi. Kylo raised his hand, and the weapons rose with it and crunched as he closed his fist. He ignored the sharp pain the movement caused in his chest and pulled the Force tighter around the wound. "Sonzy, the cuffs."

The Togruta pulled a pair of glowing cuffs from his loose pants. Vanis shook his head and glared at Sonzy, and Kylo felt the Force grow heavy in the air. "You don't want to do that."

Sonzy shrugged and locked one cuff around Vanis's wrist. "I kind of think I do. See, I've been trained by the best in the galaxy, so amateur mind tricks don't work." He attached the other cuff. "And we'll be able to help the girls you manipulated, too."

Vanis snarled and tugged at the cuffs, looking to his Trandoshans. "Do something!"

None of the orange beings moved, and they could not even if they wanted, for Teela and Jessika both had their hands raised to freeze their limbs. Jessika looked over her shoulder and smiled. Blinking yellow lights reflected off the glitter on her face. "Right this way."

Members of Coruscant's law enforcement dressed in sharp black uniforms flooded inside, aiming their blasters at Vanis and the guards before lowering them. One nodded to Kylo as he placed cuffs on one of the Trandoshans. "Been trying to get this scum for a while. We should work together more often."

Kylo gave a short laugh, ignoring the pain the noise caused in his chest. "We just don't want the Force being used in such a… vile way."

"You and me both. Thanks for the help." The officer glanced back at Kylo and gestured to his chest. "You should get a med droid to look at that."

"I'll be fine." Kylo frowned at Vanis, who howled various profanities in several languages at the officers as they dragged him toward the door. "Make sure he's behind a Force shield. He's adept at mind tricks."

The man raised his eyebrows and nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes still on the shard in Kylo's chest. "I wouldn't let any of my officers back in the field like that until they had a good soak in bacta." An odd black spot appeared in Kylo's vision, and he blinked them away as the officer pulled the still-frozen Trandoshan to the door. "Good night, Master Jedi."

The other Trandoshans and a struggling Vanis were quickly cleared from the room. Jessika crossed the hall to Kylo and Teela, wiping some glitter from her face with the heel of her palm. "That officer was right, Master. Those don't look good."

Kylo resisted the urge to roll his eyes in front his students, and he took a few quick breaths. "I'm fine. I've been injured worse than this."

Teela studied his face. "You're using the Force to suppress the pain. Let go of it for a minute, and tell us it's still fine."

Kylo opened his mouth to argue but paused. Rey would certainly hear about his refusal, and he knew the pain would be manageable without strenuous movement. He let out a sigh and grimaced as he dropped his control over the Force around the two injuries. Almost immediately, his vision began to spin, and the black spots reappeared with a vengeance. He vaguely noticed his knees hit the floor and Sonzy's shout for help, but he became solely focused on getting enough air into his lungs.

" – too far – bacta – "

The pain in his chest flared white-hot as he coughed. A metallic taste in his mouth, and the black spots overtook his vision.

* * *

Rey rubbed the side of her chest absently as she stared at the broad form obscured in the tank. A breathing apparatus covered Kylo's mouth and nose, and a pair of pants that would have to be thrown out clung to his legs. In their haste to get him in the tank, the med droid and doctor had ripped off his jacket and shirt and dropped him in the tank, barely remembering to administer some sedative let alone take the rest of his clothes.

She never wanted to see the sickly red of blood around Kylo's lips again.

"Droid says he'll be fine." Poe clapped a hand on Rey's shoulder. "Probably'll need to sleep off the bacta for a day or two, but his vitals are improving."

Rey fiddled with the wedding band around her finger. "I was ready to go on the mission, but he insisted he go instead."

"Did you see the wound he took?" Poe tapped the glass of the tank at the level of Kylo's navel. A bright red wound marring his stomach matched the one that had pierced his right lung. "I'm sure he pointed this out this morning, but you can't take that kind of injury right now."

"I'm shorter than he is. That would've – "

"Hit you in the chest and probably killed you." Poe gave her a dry look. "And you know how he would react. That club would be in pieces. All those years of anger management ruined."

Rey felt herself smiling in spite of her anger toward Kylo. "I suppose I can forgive him. He did save Teela."

Poe grinned and nodded over her shoulder. Rey followed his gaze to Sonzy, Jessika, and Teela slumped together on a couch half asleep. "They could've handled it themselves."

Jessika's braids were half-undone, and her glitter had smudged onto Sonzy's right montral. Teela's colorful scarf partially draped over Jessika's lap. Rey let out a slow breath. "They're still children."

Poe gave a half smile. "In my mind, Jess is still the crying little girl in the remains of a city I helped destroy." He sighed softly. "But I have to remember that she – they – are _Jedi._ You've trained them well."

" _Kylo_ trained them well." She looked back to the bacta tank and Kylo's gently floating form. The angry red of the wounds had faded to a dark pink. "I'm not sure what we'd do without him."

* * *

Kylo's eyelids felt heavy. He tried opening them, but they dropped back closed, his mind barely registering a shape silhouetted in light. He took a deep breath, letting his lungs expand to capacity without a trace of pain.

A hand ran through his hair, and he dragged his eyes open. He gave Rey a small smile as his eyes closed again, and he mumbled, "Hi."

" _Never_ get your lung pierced again, Kylo Ren," Rey said softly. She poked his shoulder hard and went back to running her fingers through his hair. He sensed her annoyance, her fear, her relief.

He opened his eyes and found a sad smile on Rey's lips. He reached up with a heavy arm and intertwined his fingers in hers as he sat up slowly, leaning against the wall. "You know, you never told me not to get possessed again, but a measly lung?"

Rey rolled her eyes and lightly hit his arm. "Never do anything that requires hours in a bacta tank." She placed her free hand on the side of his face, running her thumb over his faded scar. "Don't scare me like that. I expected danger with Snoke, but not with some underground criminal who can barely use the Force."

Kylo brought his hand up to encircle hers and moved it down so that he could embrace his wife. "Occupational hazard, Rey." He kissed the top of her head. "I was more concerned about Teela, but I'll be more careful next time. I'm sorry I worried you." He pulled away from her and kissed her briefly, pressing his hand against the slight swell of her stomach. "How are you feeling?"

Rey smiled against his lips and brushed a piece of his dark hair from his forehead. "I should be asking you that."

"Tired, but I'm fairly sure that's from both of us." Rey laughed softly and nodded, resting her head against Kylo's shoulder. He pulled her close, rubbing his thumb over her hand. "The Padawans?"

"They're just fine. Worried about you, but they did their jobs well to get you help." Rey traced a random pattern on his leg, and her voice lowered to a whisper. "You were so pale."

Kylo rested his head on Rey's, his eyes drifting closed again. "I'm right here."


	2. Dream

_"Mom, dad, this is Ben." Rey flashed a wide smile and rubbed Ben's left arm affectionately as he extended the right to shake the hands of two people whose faces seemed like oddly plain and slightly blurred versions of Rey's._

_Ben's stomach twisted uncomfortably, but he pushed away the strange feeling as nerves. He smiled and straightened his blue shirt before clasping Rey's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you. Rey's talked a lot about you both."_

_"Nice things, I hope?" Her mother ushered them into a modern living room with a large window that overlooked the small city and a piece of the countryside. Speeders drifted through the buildings at leisurely speeds. "Sit, sit. The droid should have some snacks out in a moment."_

_Ben settled next to Rey on a comfortable couch, his eyes following the path of a luxury speeder that raced past the window. The two setting suns cast orange light across the floor, and the strange feeling rippled through him again. He squeezed Rey's hand and looked up as her father cleared his throat. "So, Ben, remind us what you do?"_

_Ben opened his mouth and then shut it again. What was it that he did again? He vaguely remembered being hurt a few times with an energy running through him. He looked down at his hands, the suns' light warming the smooth skin. "I… I'm a technician. On those big ships, you know? When they go into orbit for supplies, we go up and run maintenance." He decided to not mention the smuggling runs with his father during his free time._

_"That must be exciting work." Rey's mother took a glass from the droid as it drifted in with a tray._

_Ben shrugged and reached for a sweet as the droid offered the tray. "Pays the bills."_

_"Ben's being modest!" Rey pecked a kiss to his cheek before taking two glasses from the tray and pressing one into his hand. "He's one of the top supervisors."_

_Rey's father raised an eyebrow, studying Ben with a look that seemed far too much like Rey's own face. "You have others working under you?"_

_"Yeah. Just the other day, I was teaching Jessika…" He trailed off, blinking rapidly at Rey. The strange feeling in his stomach made him feel nauseous._

_Rey looked radiant as ever even through her worried expression. She took his glass and set it on the table between them and her parents. "Ben, honey? What about Jessika?"_

_"I… I'm not Ben Solo…" He looked down at his hands, and rough scars suddenly marred his formerly smooth skin. Dull pain radiated in his lower back and chest. The amiableness of the two parents radiated in the air. "I'm Kylo Ren… a Jedi."_

_Rey's parents glanced at each other, confusion mixing with their hostility. "A… what?"_

_Ben willed the plate of snacks to lift into the air. It did not move, and he tried again. He looked up at Rey's parents, feeling a sense of annoyance and panic that he could not move things. "A Jedi. A Force user."_

_Rey's father chuckled nervously and exchanged a glance with his wife. "Is… is this some kind of joke, you two? We don't understand."_

_"The Force surrounds us… I can sense you, move things… I don't know why it won't move…" Ben broke off and looked to Rey for help._

_Her eyes were wide in worry, and Ben realized he could not sense her. "Honey? There's no such thing as… what did you say? The Force?"_

The dream shattered as Kylo's eyes snapped open. His heart pounded in his chest, and he turned his head to face Rey's sleeping form next to him. Her energy thrummed through the Force, and her peaceful, happy emotions from whatever she dreamt flowed through their bond and calmed his heart rate. He studied her beautiful face and latched onto their bond for support.

A world without the Force.

Without it, he still would have found Rey. But the strength of their connection, their ability to communicate would be diminished. He knew firsthand how awful being severed from the Force was, but a galaxy without the Force at all? He would not have been manipulated by Snoke, not done the terrible things he did as a Knight of Ren. He would have had a normal life as a ship technician and grown up with a family unaffected by the Force.

Rey's left arm and leg were wrapped around him, and he did not want to wake her. He gently ran his thumb over her arm, his eyes moving to the small swell of new life beginning in her. He could not feel the child yet through the Force, although Rey had begun to feel movement. He had been hesitant to have a child of his own, considering how much most people flinched when they saw him

Without the Force in the galaxy, he could have had a few children with Rey already.

Kylo banished the thought. There was no getting rid of the Force and no changing the past. And without the Force, he would not have the family he could feel sleeping in the house. He never would have found Arian, who was starting to take his first steps by himself.

Rey shifted in her sleep, her legs curling up by her stomach. Kylo pulled the rumpled blankets back over them both and wrapped an arm around his wife's middle. Her eyes flickered open, and she gave him a tired smile.

Kylo pressed a brief kiss to her forehead. "Didn't mean to wake you."

Rey groaned and rolled onto her back, rubbing her swollen stomach. "You didn't. Little no name here did."

Kylo felt a dull ache in his lower back and sat up slowly, rubbing his muscles even though he knew it would not help him. "Doc said to lie on your side or that might get worse."

Rey's head dropped to the side, and she gave him a dry look. "Doc said to trust my instincts, and right now, they say to lie on my back."

Kylo brushed some hair out of Rey's face, glancing at the chronometer next to the bed. "Why don't we get an early morning snack, and I'll massage your back."

Her wide smile matched the one he had seen in his dream, and he forced himself to forget that world. "You're on."

She held onto his hand as they traipsed down the hall. Finn and Poe were adding more space onto their home, including a second level with rooms for the former Padawans, who slept on the couches in the sitting room as they passed. The biggest guest room was now theirs, and one of the other two guest rooms was being converted into a nursery for their coming child.

Coruscant's rising sun filtered into the tall kitchen windows, silhouetting Jessika and Sonzy sitting at the table. Glasses of a juice that Finn was fond of sat in front of them, and they ate out of a bowl of sweets between them. Sonzy gave a small wave, his smile barely visible in the sunlight. "Morning. Sunrise breakfast?"

"More like 'we couldn't sleep snack,'" Rey answered with a small laugh. She sat down across from the young Jedi, and some of their sweets floated into the air and into her palm.

Jessika gave a soft hum of agreement. "We can only sleep on those couches for so long before they get a bit uncomfortable."

Kylo grabbed a box of Poe's chocolate pastries and pushed a chair close to Rey, who had already eaten the handful of sweets. "The new rooms should be done at the end of the month. I thought you were going to take turns in the guest room."

Rey grabbed two of the pastries and turned to sit sideways in her chair. Kylo began to rub small circles against her back as she put her bare feet up on the next chair. Jessika and Sonzy shrugged and exchanged a look. "We never could agree on how to rotate, so we all just stayed out there."

Jessika gestured with her head toward the windows. "And we like to get up early to practice techniques."

Kylo chuckled and ripped off a piece of Rey's second pastry, earning him a half-hearted slap on the hand. "Trying to get a leg up on Teela?" He chewed half of the piece as he worked his way up Rey's spine.

Sonzy smiled and shook his head, finishing the juice in his glass. "Trying to be better Jedi."

"And get a leg up on Teela," Jessika added with a laugh. "She's been fighting really well since the nightclub."

Sonzy bumped her arm good-naturedly, and Kylo caught something that sounded like "not supposed to tell them that."

Rey polished off her first pastry and spoke with her mouth half-full as she grabbed the ripped second one. "What about Kaydel? Doesn't she want to practice, too?"

Sonzy rolled his eyes. "She's way too busy building that Starfighter with Poe. She was annoyed that Master Skywalker took her to Yavin 4 before the club mission. Said she lost days of work."

"Piloting isn't the only thing Jedi do." Kylo kneaded his hand against a knot in Rey's back. "Even Luke says she should meditate more."

Rey waved a hand dismissively and pulled the pastry box closer to her with the Force. "Once the fighter is built, she'll probably be more willing to go on off-planet assignments."

"Oh, stars." Finn's voice was rough from sleep as he shuffled into the kitchen. "I was going to make a surprise breakfast for everyone." He rubbed one eye and shook his head, taking a clean glass from the cabinet and pouring water into it from the sink. He dropped it on the table by Rey and snatched the pastry box. "You should be eating better and _hydrating_. And _you,_ " he swatted the back of Kylo's head, "shouldn't be enabling her sweet addiction."

Kylo rubbed the back of his head and handed Rey the other half of the pastry piece he had stolen. "I can't deny the mother of my child." Rey grinned back at him. He pressed the glass of water into her hands and went back to rubbing her sore muscles. "Besides, that's what you're here for."

Finn laughed and busied himself with pulling out ingredients. "I wasn't aware Poe and I had adopted two more kids."

Jessika dropped hers and Sonzy's glasses into the sink. "You adopted _five_ more kids several months ago. I'm surprised you didn't notice?"

Finn rolled his eyes, turning on the cooking unit. "I'm actually a little surprised myself."

Rey took a sip of the water and leaned back against Kylo's hands. "Why're you up so early, Finn?"

"Got a comm asking to come in early to the center." Kylo heard something sizzle from the heating unit and the smell of something cooking. "Some of the residents had a nervous breakdown. Probably just something out of routine that scared 'em."

Jessika and Sonzy started toward the door that lead to Poe's small landing yard. "Let us know when the food's ready."

Kylo watched the door slide shut behind them and watched their lightsabers activate through the glass. "I should go supervise."

"No, you're rubbing my back." Rey moved his hand back to her back with a wide smile. "Carrying a child, remember? Besides, they're Jedi now. They can handle it."

"Better not break my ships," Poe mumbled from the doorway. His hair stuck up on the right side, and he shuffled for the box of pastries Finn had taken. "They think I didn't notice the singe on the Imperial TIE."

Finn made a reach for the box, but Poe hit his hand with it and plopped next to Kylo. "I'm making food that's better for you than those… _things._ "

"Appetizer," Poe answered around a mouthful. "And what you're making isn't chocolate."

Finn huffed and focused back on his cooking. "We're not buying those anymore. We need to be eating healthier for our new mom over there."

Kylo could sense Rey's eye roll even though he could not see it. "I'm taking the supplements. Little no name wants _chocolate_."

"If I add chocolate chips, will you eat this?"

Rey let out a long breath, her hand running over her stomach. "I suppose baby will allow it."

Kylo wrapped his arms around Rey, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck. "I'd eat it for you, but unfortunately our bond doesn't share nutrients."

"That'd be the dream, wouldn't it?" Rey grinned and pecked a kiss to the side of his face. "Although you'd probably weigh at least ten more kilos by now."

Finn slid a plate of gartro omelet complete with small chips of chocolate next to Rey and glass of the juice Jessika and Sonzy had earlier. " _Eat._ "

Rey dug into the omelet. The plates in front of Poe and Kylo did not have the chocolate in it, and Poe grumbled, "Why don't I get the good stuff?"

"You've already had enough." Finn took the pastry box again. "Do you want to fit into cockpits? They can be a tight squeeze."

Poe shoved a bite into his mouth, looking like a youngling with his messy hair and offended expression. "Yes, _mom._ "


	3. Agitation

"He's taken to running on a grav-mill. Seems to help his mood." Kylo kept his eyes on two Zabraks through the observation window, chewing the inside of his lip. The Kaminoan paused before continuing, "He's finally getting along with the rest of his floor, but he's still not tolerating visitors well."

"Who's the other one?" Kylo nodded to the Zabrak on the right, whose skin was a dark tan in contrast to the other's red tattoos. "A new admit?"

The Kaminoan turned her long neck to look at him with wide black eyes. "I thought you knew. That's his brother."

Kylo finally tore his gaze away from the Zabraks in surprise. "His brother? I thought he wasn't seeing visitors."

"He is the only one he'll allow, but they have only spoken twice. Just this last week." The Kaminoan swayed slightly as she watched the Zabraks with a small smile. Her name tag read _Hayna_. "Eeth is a very interesting patient."

Kylo nodded slowly, shifting his concentration to the flow of the Force around him. The soft murmur of most beings' low sensitivity to the Force hummed around him, telling him where each staff member and patient were located on several floors of the building. The tan Zabrak felt familiar, as Eeth had during his years as a Padawan, but without the strong sensitivity to the Force. A few months before, Eeth had oozed dark energy, but even as Kylo watched him, he could barely feel him through the Force. "He keeps putting his hands out, doesn't he? Having nightmares?"

Hayna blinked slowly and nodded, looking back through the observation window. "I was told you rarely speak with the other staff. In fact, I believe most of them are scared of you."

Kylo gave a soft scoff and nodded slowly. "You were told correctly. And they have no reason to be afraid of me." He rubbed his wrist unconsciously. His abilities had only been temporarily blocked for two weeks, not permanently removed, and he had nearly lost his mind. He could only imagine what his former Padawan was going through. "I… know what he's going through. I want to help, but he refuses to see me."

"You remind him of what he's lost." A long-fingered hand rested on his shoulder for a brief moment as Hayna turned to leave. "But seeing his brother is a good start. He may be ready to see you in time."

The Kaminoan started to leave, and Kylo took a breath before asking, "Do you think Eeth would be willing to talk with one of my students? Another Jedi?"

She paused and twisted her neck so that he could see her flat profile. "They would remind him of what he gave up. Of what could have been. If he had not been manipulated or lost his abilities, he, too, would be a Jedi." She turned and gave him a small smile. "You can emphasize with his situation. When he wants to reconnect with his old life, you're the best person for him to talk with." Hayna studied him for a moment before adding, "And I think it comforts him to know you come, even though he's not ready to see you yet."

She strolled through a doorway, leaving Kylo alone in the observation room. He turned back to the watch Eeth, unwilling to leave just yet. Other patients milled about in the big room, some playing on a holo chess table while others had datapads of books. A holo projected near the far wall advertised a holofilm night at the end of the week.

Eeth's fingers played with a Corellian apple, and he continually avoided his brother's gaze by looking down at the fruit. Without a sensitivity to the Force, his emotions mixed with the others in the room, making it difficult for Kylo to focus on what his former Padawan felt. He could feel no hostility in the room, however, apart from annoyance at came from two humans in the corner.

"You know, you don't brood as well now that you're happy with Rey."

Kylo watched Finn's reflection approach in the durasteel, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Wasn't exactly trying to brood."

"Don't need the Force to feel the vibe." Finn flashed a grin that suggested he spent far too much time with Poe.

Kylo ran a gloved hand through his hair and took a long breath. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Nah. Not usually on this floor." He nodded to the two humans in the corner. "Couple of residents from the center upstairs are here for extra observation. They freaked out a bit the other night."

"Your nervous breakdown residents?" The two humans watched the other residents, their expressions not giving anything away about the emotions inside. "They're annoyed."

Finn blinked and looked between Kylo and the residents. "At what? Getting moved to this floor?"

Kylo shrugged and focused on the Force. The two glared around the room but did not seem to direct their annoyance toward a particular person. "I suppose so. I don't exactly go around entering people's minds all the time."

"I'm sure the Senate is glad to hear that." Finn grinned again. "Anyway, I'm going to chat with them. See how they're doing." He paused for a moment, his eyes resting on Eeth. "Want me to say anything to him?"

Kylo pulled in a breath slowly through his nose. "No. He's not very happy with visitors just yet. I wouldn't engage him."

Finn nodded once and turned to the door to enter the big room. "All right. I'll let you break the ice. See you later."

He passed by the observation window and sat backwards on a chair in front of the humans. They barely made eye contact with him, but they held themselves straight and soldier-like as Finn did, confirming Kylo's suspicions that they were some of the former Stormtroopers that had stayed with his program. Their moods did not improve as Finn talked, but neither spoke a word back to him. One glanced at the Zabraks before looking at a random spot on the wall.

The chronometer displayed nearly noon, and a small surge of panic rose in Kylo as he remembered Rey's appointment at the clinic. He raced out of the building, brushing away the slight ripple in the Force as he climbed into Poe's speeder.

* * *

A low, sweet song broke the still air. Kylo looked over the trees to find the source. A flash of bright orange through the foliage caught his eye, and he squeezed Rey's hand. "Whisper-birds are out."

A wide smile spread across her tired face, and she took her head from his shoulder to see two long shapes fly around a tree and back into the leaves. She leaned backwards again, resting her head and back and head against his chest and shoulders. "I think I liked the Naboo birds better."

Kylo shifted against the tree and rested his head against hers. "Were there birds on Jakku?"

"Really just steelpeckers." Her thumb ran over the small ridges across the back of his hand. Kylo could sense the twist in her stomach, her jumble of thoughts. "It was a good day if you found one dead. Plutt liked them for the metal they ate."

Kylo smiled and pressed his lips to the crook of Rey's neck before resting his chin on her shoulder. They remained quiet for several minutes with Rey settled between his legs and his back against tree, enjoying the peace of the small portion of the wild left on Coruscant. Wind rippled the lake and shook the leaves in the surrounding trees, sending a few fluttering around them and onto the water.

Rey let out a slow breath and whispered, "We're having a girl."

Kylo squeezed her hand again before moving it to her stomach, his grin so wide his cheeks ached. "We're having a girl."

Rey twisted to look at him, her joy radiating through the bond with his. "A girl, Kylo. A girl!" She kissed briefly before their smiles pulled them apart. "What're we going to name her?"

Kylo ran his free hand through his hair, shrugging. The whisper-bird's sweet song sounded again, and he watched the creature glide over the lake in front of them and land in another tree. "It's strange picking a name for someone we don't even know."

"She's our daughter. If she doesn't like it, she can change it, _Kylo Ren_." She smiled and turned again, leaning back against his chest. "We'll think of something. We have a few months."

Kylo wrapped his arms around Rey, his hands resting on her stomach again. She chewed her lower lip. Coruscant's bright sun dipped below the line of trees that barely concealed the enveloping city. The small lake lapped against the shore just a few meters from Rey's outstretched feet. "Do you remember our last anniversary?"

She hummed softly. "You proposed on the lake." Her laugh vibrated against him. "I don't think you're going to top that one."

"Maybe we'll dance on Naboo before we meet Miss No Name." He ran his thumbs slowly over Rey's stomach and shifted slightly. "Are you comfortable? I don't imagine the ground is that – "

" _Stars_ , Kylo, I'm fine," Rey answered with a snap in her voice. Kylo blinked and recoiled at the sudden annoyance across the bond. She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, sorry."

Kylo pulled in a deep breath through his nose. "What's wrong?"

Rey shook her head and sighed. "Mood swings, I guess."

"Rey."

She lowered her head for a moment. "Some Senators stopped by the school while you were at the rehab center and made some... comments." She took a deep breath, and Kylo let her collect her thoughts as he felt another surge of annoyance. "About how I shouldn't be a Jedi now that I'm going to be a mother."

Kylo's temper rose faster than the activation of a lightsaber. " _What?_ They're not kriffing Jedi! What - Where do they get the gall to say things like that to you? Plenty of them have younglings and are somehow still qualified to _run the galaxy,_ although they're not very good at it. Stars, we're not even the old Jedi Order; they didn't even allow marriage. Who are those Senators? I want to… speak… with them. Why are you laughing?"

Rey shook her head, her hand covering her mouth.

Kylo stared. "Rey?"

She grinned and pecked a kiss to the scarred side of his face. "I love you."


	4. Cold

Kylo flicked his finger over the datapad and tapped the corner to start the next holovid. Two figures on the screen took stances, lightsabers activating in their hands. Another stood to the side, watching as the sabers began to engage in a slow duel. He slid his finger across the bottom of the screen, forcing the video to zoom in on the taller fighter, a too-familiar Zabrak.

Eeth's horns barely jutted out of his skull, and he backed away from a small Teela. His tan face set in concentration, and he lunged forward before pausing. Kylo's voice, which sounded odd to him over a recording, vibrated through the datapad's meager speakers. Eeth relaxed, the lightsaber sheathing, as he listened intently to the instruction.

Kylo sighed and tapped the datapad to stop the holo recording. He studied Eeth's frozen face, looking for signs of the manipulation his former student had undergone. The pain Kylo had not noticed. He let the vid play for a few more seconds and paused it again after Eeth had moved into a better angle. He zoomed in further, causing the picture to blur.

A tap on his leg made him look to the floor. Arian grinned up at him, his little fist curled around the fabric of Kylo's pant leg. The legs of a miniature AT-AT stuck out from under the table, and colorful blocks decorated with the letters of Basic and stars lay strewn over the carpeted floor. His other hand waved a bright purple and blue stuffed Tooka, which squeaked as it hit the side of the couch.

Kylo set the datapad on the table in front of him and picked up the youngling, giving him a smile as he set him on his knee. "You want some attention, don't you?"

Arian smiled and opened his mouth before sneezing. Kylo flinched and wiped his own face with his sleeve before wiping Arian's. "Are you getting Rey's cold?"

A small hand reached out, the finger tips trying and failing to grasp the silver band around his ring finger. "I'd let you hold it, but you're just going to try to eat it like Kaydel's bracelet." Arian giggled and held out the Tooka doll, his free hand still reaching for Kylo's ring. Kylo brushed some of Arian's dark hair out of his face and smiled, sensing what he wanted through the Force. "No, we're not trading. What's his name?"

Arian gripped the Tooka with both hands and held it up proudly. "Nana."

"Do you and Nana want to watch something?" Kylo held up the datapad, and Arian grinned again. He adjusted the child on his lap and wrapped a hand around his waist to ensure he did not fall.

Kylo flicked his finger over the datapad screen several times, watching the date stamp at the bottom corner rise from the year he had begun teaching to when he had taken three more Padawans. Arian pressed the Tooka's stuffed arm to the datapad in an imitation of Kylo's motions. The doll squeaked again as its entire body pressed against the screen. "Dada."

"Yes, it's a datapad." Kylo took the doll, wiggling it in a small dance on his knee. Arian squealed and clapped. The small hands snatched the moving doll, and he made it hop along Kylo's leg. Kylo pressed his lips to the top of Arian's mop of dark hair and turned his attention back to the holovid displayed on the datapad.

He stood in the small courtyard of the old Jedi school, his saber igniting as he took a defensive stance with one hand on his hilt. Teela, much taller than she had been in the previous vid, faced him next to Eeth, and Kylo zoomed the video in again. The Zabrak's horns had grown through the years between vids, and although Teela had grown, he looked much larger. His expression was hardened as he surged forward with the Mirialan. Kylo zoomed out to watch the ensuing sparring match.

He watched himself bat away Eeth's blue lightsaber and turn, throwing his hand forward. Teela and Eeth went sprawling on the permacrete. The recording Kylo chuckled, his words fuzzy through the holocam's recording system. "And you two think Form Six isn't worthwhile. Do you see with the proper training, it can be more useful than the other forms?"

Arian's hand touched the screen where Kylo stood, and the vid flickered. "Dada."

Kylo smiled down at the child and made the Tooka dance again on his knee. Arian grabbed it again and hugged the purple and blue doll, making it squeak.

Four figures had appeared in the top corner of the cam, and the recorded Kylo approached Rey and the three soon-to-be Padawans. He stayed focused on the exchange, watching himself kneel in front of a young Jessika Dameron. He pulled out his lightsaber hilt again. As it ignited, Kylo shook his head and tapped the screen, backing the recording up and zooming the vid onto Eeth and Teela as they walked to the side and picked up canteens of water.

"Ren, your wife still won't listen." Kylo tore his eyes away from the recording of Eeth to look up at Finn, who leaned against the arched doorway leading from the hall to the couch. The former Stormtrooper rolled his eyes and held up a comm. "She has her lightsaber out with the younglings."

Kylo set the datapad on the table and held Arian as the child reached for it. "Are you spying on Rey?"

Finn hesitated for a moment before sighing. "I told a droid to let me know if she did extraneous work." Kylo raised an eyebrow, and Finn grumbled. "She's having a _baby,_ Ren, and she's never really been around other pregnant women before, so she doesn't know. I mean, all she likes to eat is chocolate, which can't be healthy at all, and don't you dare laugh at me, Ren."

Kylo stood, tucking an arm under Arian to hold him against his chest and shoulder as he suppressed a laugh. "And you were going to do what with that information? Stop her? Have you ever tried stopping Rey?"

Finn's shoulders sagged. "Yes, I've tried, and you apparently have more luck than I do. Why aren't you more worried? You've been fawning over Rey, giving her chocolate and backrubs."

Kylo let out a short laugh and walked to the doorway, putting a hand on Finn's shoulder as he walked past him. "Turns out, a Force bond is more informative than a covert droid."

Finn groaned and followed Kylo to the kitchen. "And what does your magical bond tell you? She's tired, right? She can't keep going at this pace, especially with that cold."

"She knows that. We've done the reading." Kylo turned to face Finn. "I'll know if she gets too tired."

Arian reached toward the cabinet, making the Tooka doll flop onto the floor with a meager squeak. "Cook."

Finn picked up the doll and let Arian grab it back before giving Kylo a dry look. "Don't be giving him the sweet tooth, too."

"Stars, why are you so worried today?" Kylo crossed to the cabinet and pulled out a bag of small crackers. "You're worse than me."

He held out one for Arian, who batted it away. "Cook."

Finn crossed his arms over his chest, the comm still clutched in his hand. "And why _am_ I worse than you? You're the father. I'm actually surprised you're not more concerned, considering how you usually are with Rey."

Kylo held up another cracker to Arian. "You can have a cookie if you eat some of these first." The annoyance filtered through the Force, and Kylo rolled his eyes. "Crackers and then cookie."

The small hand closed around the cracker, and Kylo gave the child a smile before looking back at Finn. The other man wore a tense expression, and Kylo sighed slowly. "I was a nervous wreck for the first few months before we even told everyone."

Finn snorted. "Yeah. We knew something was going on. I'm pretty sure Jess and the others had a betting pool as to what you two were doing."

Kylo gave a small smile and nodded, watching Arian chew the cracker slowly. "We weren't sure Rey could carry past those first months. The droids kept telling us that…" he swallowed before continuing, "being malnourished during her adolescence made it very possible that she would never be able to have a child. But she's five months now, and they're confident she'll be all right now."

Arian crunched another cracker, and Kylo glanced back up at Finn. He had never divulged personal information to the former Stormtrooper before, at least not without Rey or Poe present. Finn's eyes met his. "She's my friend. I _want_ her to be all right." He grinned. "And I want to meet your little girl."

Kylo allowed another smile come to his face. "I do, too." He adjusted his grip on Arian, and the child sneezed again. He brushed a hand over Arian's forehead. "I think he's getting Rey's cold."

"He's not the only thing that's cold," Jessika grumbled as she stomped into the kitchen. Snow fell from her shoulders as she threw back her hood. Sonzy trailed after her, tracking snow in with his boots.

Both Finn and Kylo stared, and Kylo shook his head. "I… thought the planet's weather control kept it from snowing."

Sonzy shivered and moved to turn on the heating unit. "Tell that to the weather."

Kylo had darkened the windows to help a headache, and they turned transparent as Finn pressed a button. Snow blew nearly horizontal in the air. The few speeders in the air flew slowly, rocking in the wind. "It was sunny and warm this morning."

Sonzy and Jessika huddled by the heating unit. "That's why we went to mediate in the park. WeatherNet promised sunny skies."

"Rey walked to the school today. I'll go get her." Kylo handed Arian to Finn, and the youngling whimpered, holding out his hands with the Tooka to Kylo.

He brushed Arian's hair out of his face again before heading to his and Rey's room to grab cloaks. He was shrugging on his own when he felt her presence in the bond grow stronger. Bumps formed on his skin, and a phantom shiver raced through him.

Kylo waved a hand over a control panel, and the sitting room windows lightened to transparency as the ones in the kitchen had. A speeder lowered onto the landing pad, and his heart skipped a beat as Rey nearly slipped stepping out. Poe's green jacket, draped across her shoulders, slid halfway off, and the pilot adjusted it as he walked huddled with her across the pad and inside.

Kylo opened the door for them and wrapped Rey's cloak around her shivering body before wrapping himself around her. "You all right?"

She nodded and gave him a smile. "Yeah. Not as bad as crashing on Imei."

Kylo suppressed a shudder as they moved to sit down. "No wampas in sight, thank the stars."

Poe shook snow from his hair as he looked out the window. "Reports said a shuttle crashed into one of the main weather control stations. This sector of the planet is getting a lovely blizzard while the other stations automatically tried to compensate by making the rest of the planet hot and dry."

"A shuttle crash?" Jessika plopped onto a couch with a blanket. "What was a shuttle doing out by the weather station?"

Poe shrugged and took his general's jacket back from Rey. "City school tour maybe?"

Sonzy followed Jessika and let out a howl of pain and surprise as his now-bare feet stepped on three of Arian's blocks that littered the floor. He collapsed next to Jessika and glared at her laughter, massaging his foot. "Anyone hurt? Not that I'm volunteering to go back into the cold, but I suppose we could help."

Poe grabbed the datapad Kylo had left on the table. He shot the Jedi a pointed look before tapping in his credentials to read an official report. "Pilot killed instantly. No other casualties mentioned, so I don't think there's much you can do. Looks like some supplies onboard were destroyed."

Jessika lifted her hand, and Arian's blocks floated onto the table. "What kind of supplies?"

Poe sat down next to Kylo and flicked his finger over the datapad screen. "Supplies haven't been logged yet, so probably nothing urgent."

Arian toddled into the room and sneezed, promptly falling back onto his Tooka doll with an obnoxious squeak. A surprised look covered his pudgy face, and the cookie clutched in his hand broke. Rey's shoulder shook against Kylo as she laughed.

Arian pointed to Poe with a grin. "Dada."

Kylo felt a smile pull at his mouth. "He's been calling the datapad 'dada' all day."

"Wow." Jessika laughed with Rey as she picked Arian up. The youngling giggled and held his hands out toward Kylo. "He doesn't give two bantas about the datapad." She held out a hand and wiggled her fingers. The Tooka drifted into the air and circled around Arian before settling in his small hands. "He's calling you 'Dad.'"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated! Thank you so much for reading!


	5. Festival

"What do you think?" Rey held up a dark blanket decorated with little stitched stars.

Jessika looked up from the collection of brightly colored toys. She studied the offered blanket and ran her fingers over the material. "The question is: will your daughter inherit your need to always be hot or her father's _normal_ temperature habits?"

Rey rolled her eyes, although Jessika had a point. She pinched her fingers over the material. The blanket was made of at least three heavy layers that would be far too warm for Kylo but would be perfect for her.

Teela shrugged and looked through the pile of various blankets. "I suppose since she won't grow up on Jakku, she might be more like Master Ren?"

Rey gave Jessika a hopeless look and set the blanket back on the pile. "I don't know." She chewed her lip, looking over the children's toys and pieces of clothing the shop stall had to offer. A knot formed in her stomach that she silently hoped wasn't a sign of something wrong. "I don't know anything about having a child. Or raising one. Or what to do if she's too hot or sick or scared. And Kylo can't even sense her yet – what if she's not Force sensitive? What in the stars are we doing?"

"Whoa. Okay. Freak out time." Teela exchanged a look with Jessika and gave Rey a sympathetic smile. She led her away from the stall by her shoulders. "Let's get some bantha cream."

Rey narrowly avoided running into a being that seemed to be a slimy Hutt relative as they weaved their way through the crowd of people. Stalls lined several rows throughout the large courtyard selling everything from synthfur clothes and writing styluses to jewelry and little models of ships that Poe would love. Most members of the crowd wore something festive, the most popular choice a hat that kept the hot Coruscant sun out of their eyes. Droids trailed after several groups with bags slung over their mechanical arms. Music from a show at the opposite end of the row echoed off the surrounding buildings, and a cheer from the audience drowned out all conversations of the shoppers for a moment.

Rey kept her eyes on Jessika as she weaved her way through the crowded street. The sun shone against young Jedi's auburn bun and glinted against the lightsaber hilt that just barely peeked through the top of her dark trousers. A few people walking slowly to take in stall merchandise paused and did double takes as they caught Rey's face, but most were polite enough not to mutter to their companions until she was out of earshot.

Two laughing Twi'leks passed, each with their own droid laden down with items Rey was sure was unnecessary to life. Despite having been to the Festival of Peace before, Rey still marveled at how much _stuff_ there was in the galaxy for people to just buy. As a member of the former Resistance, she had taken a while to get used to the idea of three regular meals a day, but that concept had eased her into the thought that she could just go to a store and buy food with credits allocated to the Jedi. She usually let Kylo handle their money after a security droid had been called when she asked to trade the spare parts of a protocol droid for some food during their first week on Coruscant.

Stars. How was she supposed to know what was necessary for a baby? She had read much of the information files the med droid had sent to her datapad, but beyond a hovercrib and diapers, it did not say what else a baby needed. What if the little girl growing within her had a fatal deficit before she even had a chance at life? Or worse, what if she made a fatal mistake?

Kylo never seemed worried about making a mistake, or even about being a parent. Once he had finally come around to the idea, he had fully embraced it and her with as much support as possible. He was a natural with Arian, and even though Rey worked with the younglings at the school, she had an awful feeling about handling an infant every moment.

The stalls formed a curve at the end of the row, encircling some tables with small force fields to cast some shade. Some of the smells coming from the stalls made Rey's stomach lurch, and she covered her nose. Teela led her to one of the tables furthest from the food stalls, and Jessika returned after a few minutes with bowls full of blue bantha cream. Chocolate covered the lump of cream in the bowl the young Jedi pushed to Rey. She gave Jessika a grateful smile and popped a spoonful in her mouth. The chocolate seemed to calm her nerves, although her stomach knotted again as she watched a couple at another table struggle to quiet a crying toddler.

Teela took a bite of her own bantha cream and looked thoughtfully at Rey. "You're nervous."

Rey chewed her lower lip and licked some chocolate from her finger to avoid answering.

Teela gave a small smile. "It's all right to be nervous, you know." She stirred the blue cream slowly with her spoon. "I know it's not the same thing, but I was nervous to leave my people for Jedi training. It was hard, for a little while. Mirialans are very spiritual, especially with each other, and as the only one here, I felt lost. But I found a family with you and Master Ren."

Rey wiped her spoon over the chocolate and licked it off carefully, trying not to let the fear seep into her voice. "She's going to be the daughter of Kylo Ren and Rey Solo. She won't have a moment of peace her entire life." The blue cream was starting to weep in the heat, and she brushed off the melted portion and stuffed it into her mouth, hoping the cold would get rid of the lump in her throat. "That's why Kylo didn't want a child for so long. He knows what it's like."

"You know, despite your legendary bond, sometimes you two don't communicate well." Jessika licked a runaway droplet of cream from her lip and answered Rey's incredulous look with a dry one of her own. "He's been distracted in training lately. He's _excited,_ and just as nervous as you. But I think you two've been so busy with meetings and off-planet visits and teaching that you're not talking about it like you should."

Teela hummed in agreement, although her green skin flushed with the prospect of speaking so bluntly. "What you two need is a night alone, without everyone else around."

Rey stared at the two Jedi, acutely aware of the sun's heat beating on her back. "When did you two grow up?"

Jessika snorted and slurped the melted cream from her bowl. "Someone's gotta have their head straight what with you two hiding freak-outs and Finn hovering and Dad buying pretty much any sweet he sees."

A laugh bubbled out of Rey's mouth before she could stop herself. "Have we all been that dysfunctional?"

"Jess exaggerates a bit," Teela smiled shyly and looked down at her bantha cream, "but yes. And that just means we're all here for you. You're not going into this alone. Your little girl will have the best support possible."

Rey shoveled in a few more chocolatey spoonfuls of bantha cream before it completely melted. The lump in her throat seemed to have dissolved, and she was sure the upset feeling in her stomach was from the smells around her. Something in the back of her mind told her they were right. She and Kylo needed to slow down and focus on each other before their attention was completely taken by the girl kicking in her belly.

Just thinking about her husband seemed to strengthen their bond, for she was sure he would never come to such a crowded festival until Jessika's cheerful voice said, "Master Ren!"

Kylo's leg swung over the bench, and he slid next to Rey with a small smile. "Happy Peace Day." He pulled off a glove and swiped his finger through the melted remains of Reyna bantha cream. He licked it off and shrugged as she swatted his shoulder. "What? It's hot."

"I didn't think you'd be caught dead at the Festival of Peace." Rey fitted her fingers between his before he had a chance to put the glove back on.

Kylo squeezed her hand, his mouth pulling into slightly bitter smile. "Technically, it's our holiday. We _were_ the ones who brought down Snoke – twice, might I add – which started this festival."

More people were doing double takes as they passed their table. Kylo's tall frame did not blend easily into a crowd, and she caught a few murmurs of "is it _them_?" and "lightsabers" along with "didn't think they would actually mingle with normal people."

Kylo's eyes closed for a moment, and he took a deep breath that slowly dispelled most of the annoyance that had creeped up Rey's chest. Rey squeezed his hand and was about to suggest they go home when she noticed Jessika glaring at two Mon Calamaris who were goggling at their table with their bulbous eyes.

"Yes, they're so normal that they don't like being stared at as much as you do," she snapped, her hand touching her lightsaber where it was hidden in her trousers.

The Mon Calamaris looked taken aback and muttered something to each in a language Rey could not speak. As they shuffled back into the crowd, a Gungan, rather short for one of his species, seemed to materialize right next to the table. He clutched a datapad and a writing stylus, his big eyes wide as his eyes found the scar across Kylo's face. "Hidoe! Flash Zizz with the _Coruscant Daily._ Can mesa get a quote on why yous out in public?"

They all stared, just as taken aback as the two Mon Calamari had been. Slowly, Jessika and Kylo spoke at the same time, "No."

Flash scribbled something on the datapad. "Why only yous? No others Jedi? Tension in the Order?"

Kylo leaned forward, pulling the glove back over his hand. "Since you're here alone, is there tension in _your_ family?"

The Gungan paused and brushed a long, fin-like ear over his shoulder. "Nosa."

"Then there's no reason to assume there is in ours." Rey wrapped her arm around Kylo's and gave the journalist a smile. "So, please leave us so we can enjoy the festival."

Flash made another scribble on the datapad and then placed his writing stylus between his teeth. His free hand pulled something from a pocket, and before any of them could stop him, he flashed a holocam at them and scurried away into the crowd.

"Hey!"

Jessika stood to run after him, but Teela grabbed her wrist. "Let him go. It's just his job, and it's not like sitting at a table eating bantha cream is particularly embarrassing."

Kylo ran a hand through his hair, his eyes on the spot where Flash had disappeared. "Knowing the media, they'll find some way to spin a picture into something that puts me in a bad light." He rolled his eyes as he glanced at Rey. "They tend to paint everyone badly unless your name is Poe Dameron."

Jessika snorted a laugh. "At least his old 'face of the Resistance' reputation can help us."

Rey grinned and scooped up the last liquid remains of her bantha cream. "At this point, he and Finn are basically honorary Jedi."

Kylo's back stiffened next to her, and a cold chill settled in Rey's stomach through the bond. Sensing the sudden change in Kylo's demeanor, Jessika looked at Kylo in alarm, and Teela leaned forward. "What's wrong?"

Kylo's eyes scanned the crowd, and he slowly stood. "There's a… pulse in the Force. Do you feel it?"

Rey stood next to her husband, forcing herself to focus solely on the Force around them. Past the beacons of Kylo, Jessika, and Teela, something faint within the crowd hummed with energy. "Another Force sensitive?"

Kylo shook his head, staring unblinking at the row of stalls. "I don't think it's a being, at least it doesn't feel like any I've sensed before."

"Someone like Vanis misusing the Force?" Jessika asked, her lightsaber hilt clutched in her hand.

Kylo frowned, something strange running through the bond. When he spoke, his voice was nearly monotone. "An object, but yes, being misused."

He stepped toward the row of stalls, knocking over a short Toydarian without a glance at the stubby being. Rey rushed forward and grabbed his shoulder, and Kylo blinked down at her rapidly, seeming to come out of a trance. "Rey… sorry, I - I don't know what – "

"There," Jessika pointed with her saber, and she and Teela slipped between the members of the crowd.

Kylo made to follow them, but Rey kept her hand on his shoulder, studying his face carefully. "I don't think you should. They can handle it."

Kylo frowned at her and glanced up at the crowd. Rey could feel the two Jedi's Force signatures moving further away from them, but they blended so well, she could not see them.

Kylo's anxiety flashed through the Force, and Rey took a deep breath, hoping to calm them both. The comm on Kylo's wrist bleeped, and Jessika said, "We think whatever that thing is was in a box that was loaded onto a cargo ship behind the show stage, but it took off before we could get to it."

Kylo exchanged a glance with Rey, and she did not need their bond to read the worry in his face. "Record everything you can about the ship. I'll ask Poe to look up what cargo ships left the planet today."

The comm went silent with a touch of a button, and Rey frowned at Kylo. Despite the heat of the crowd on every side, it felt as if they were the only ones on the street. "What do you think that was?"

Kylo chewed his lower lip for a moment. "Something powerful. You don't need Force sensitivity to do smuggle a Force object."


	6. Collapse

Small holo figures raced across a board in the corner. The head of a Kaminoan bobbed on her long neck gently as she watched two Twi'leks play the game.

Kylo's gloves made a soft creaking noise as he curled his fingers into fists. Eeth stared at the holos, and if Kylo could not have sensed the Force tense around the Zabrak, he would have thought Eeth did not know he was there.

Kylo cleared his throat, forcing his hands to unclench. "You wanted to speak with me."

His stomach twisted in apprehension. It had been months since they had pulled Eeth from Geonosis following Snoke's final demise. Months since they had realized Snoke had siphoned all of th e Zabrak's Force sensitivity, and months since Eeth had even looked at him.

But Eeth turned slowly, his eyes narrowed. "Why aren't my powers back?"

Kylo blinked, searching the red tattooed face for a sign of sadness or denial. Instead, he read fury and bitterness. "I – you know why. Snoke took – Snoke _stole_ them."

Eeth's palm slapped against the table between them. The Kaminoan's head turned to watch them. "No, he drained them. Everything I've read, everything _you've_ ever taught, says Force abilities come from midichlorians. He didn't take those." Eeth leaned forward, his jaw clenched. "So why haven't they regenerated my powers? It's been _six months_."

Kylo chewed the inside of his lip for a moment, his stomach twisting again. He spoke slowly, hoping not to anger Eeth further. "I think Snoke… He, well, he took too much from you. Too much too quickly." He swallowed and let out a long breath. "I think he may have killed your midichlorians."

Eeth growled low, and before Kylo could react, the Zabrak's large, red-tattooed hand wrapped around his wrist. "Then give me some of yours."

Kylo frowned, ignoring the part of his mind that screamed to shove Eeth away for touching him. At least his sleeve and glove kept a barrier over his skin. "I don't think that's possible."

"You haven't tried."

The grip tightened, and Kylo felt his temper begin to rise. "Let. Go."

Eeth ground his teeth together, the room's light reflecting off the horns that jutted from his skull. "I _need_ the Force."

The thought that using the Force to make Eeth's hand release his wrist would be tactless briefly crossed Kylo's mind before he jerked his free hand. Eeth's fingers snapped open, and Kylo pulled his arm close to his chest.

Eeth stood abruptly, and Kylo flinched involuntarily. The Zabrak's lip curled. "Just like the Jedi before the Empire rose. Selfish. _Arrogant_."

Kylo stood, becoming eye level with Eeth as anger boiled in his chest and pounded in his head. The thought of his old mask flashed in his mind. It would have hidden the reddening of his ears. "If that's what you think of us, you learned _nothing_ from me."

"I learned plenty." Eeth smirked, the expression cold on his red tattooed face. "Just likely not what you intended for me to learn."

A growl formed low in Kylo's throat until a hand on his shoulder made him jump. The tall Kaminoan, Hayna, peered down at him, a frown marring her usually serene face. "Might I ask you something in the other room, Master Jedi?"

Kylo stared at her for a long moment as it took all of his will power not to throw a punch before dipping his head once. "Of course."

He did not look back at Eeth as he followed the Kaminoan through a doorway and into the observation room he usually stood in to watch his former Padawan. He cleared his throat, trying to calm the pounding in his ears. "Yes?"

The Kaminoan swayed as if to some unheard music for a moment. "Will Eeth's Force sensitivity return?"

Kylo glanced through the window. Eeth had moved to the opposite end of the room and seemed to be in an argument with one of the other staff members. "At this point, I don't think it will. He seems to think getting midichlorians from someone else will bring it back."

Hayna nodded slowly, her large black eyes staring unblinkingly at her own reflection in the window. "My race developed cloning technology. Our finest achievement, but our scientists hunger for more. I've heard talk of research into midichlorians."

"What?" Kylo's head snapped back to Hayna. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as a feeling of unease spread through him. "Research into midichlorians? Did _you_ give him that idea?"

"Of course not." She smiled slightly. "I'm simply suggesting that the technology might be possible in the future. Technology to help Eeth."

Kylo pulled in a slow breath through his nose. "That 'technology' is not a good idea. Giving people not born with the sensitivity would be disorienting for them and put the galaxy out of balance. Look what sensitives have already wrought throughout history."

Heyna hummed. "If everyone had sensitivity to the Force, they would be able to know what it's like to be you. You would be trusted instead of feared."

Kylo blinked in surprise but shook his head slowly. "Perhaps, but I doubt it." His mind raced with several arguments, but he paused.

A faint screech of durasteel hitting something sounded distantly. The Force prickled around him, screaming of danger just as the shadow blocked the sunlight streaming through the window. A strange cold spread through Kylo.

"Run!"

He threw his hands out, shoving the Force against the walls to reinforce them. The Kaminoan's presence within the Force raced back through the door. The patient room erupted into noise, and Kylo redirected the Force to the large object that was rapidly hurtling toward the window. The object slowed, but he could not hold it for long. Not without help.

An alarm shrieked. The patients began retreating to the level below. Kylo strained to hold the object, to give them more time. He threw out his thoughts out wildly in the Force, hoping Rey would hear or the others would feel his urgency.

Something warm and heavy smashed into him. Kylo's control over the Force broke, and his head cracked against the one-way mirror. His vision blurred, making him think someone red was in front of him. He slid to the floor, his head pounding.

A moment later, the wall and windows cracked, the ceiling buckled, and the ship crashed into the building.

* * *

_Peace._

_Deep green grass rustled under Kylo's feet. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of tall trees and shone onto the hills that lined the meadow. Birds chirped and called to each other, adding to the serenity that hummed through the Force._

_Kylo turned slowly, gazing up at the blue sky. An enormously tall, thick tree dominated the rest of the meadow. The upper branches reached farther than Kylo could see, and thick roots occasionally rose out of the ground in gentle arches. He decided it would take several hundred people holding hands to encompass the trunk._

" _Kylo."_

_Rey stood near the moss-covered bark, her face in a wide smile. She held a child in her arms, a girl with ringlets in her dark hair. The girl giggled and held out a tiny hand toward him, her chocolate eyes sparkling. Kylo reached for her._

_She settled into his arms, babbling happily. Rey leaned forward and kissed Kylo briefly, her hand running over the girl's hair. "She's beautiful."_

_A shadow fell over the meadow, and thunder rumbled. The tree behind Rey began to shrivel as if all the nutrients inside were being sucked out. It curled toward them. He held the girl tighter in his arms and ran._

_Rey yelled, and Kylo looked back to see the tree collapse on top of her._

" _Rey!"_

_He turned, his heart racing in panic. Her hand reached out from under the steam, and pain filled her voice. "Go! Save her!"_

_Kylo held tighter to the girl in one arm and grabbed Rey's in his free hand. The girl reached a small hand out, whimpered, and disappeared in black smoke._

* * *

"Master Ren!"

Kylo's head throbbed in time with the pounding in his chest. His eyes slid open and shut several times, giving him brief glimpses of dust-covered debris. It took him several minutes for his mind to sort out the dream from reality, but his eyes finally focused on Teela's worried face.

"Thank the stars. I didn't want to tell Rey you'd suffered brain damage." She gave a small smile and glanced at Kaydel, who hovered right next to her. "There's half the ceiling on top of you. We wanted a med droid to be here before we freed you just in case, but I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible."

Kylo fought the urge to close his eyes again. He took a breath to speak, but his chest burned with a coughing fit. His voice wheezed as he finally rasped, "What happened?"

"A shuttle crashed into a cargo ship, which hit this building." Teela straightened, her eyes looking over the wreckage. "They said it should've completely knocked this place over and hit a few more buildings, but we assume you had something to do with that."

Kylo coughed again, and the pounding in his head increased. He tried to sit up, but his legs would not move with him. He pushed himself up on a shaky arm to see a pile of debris obscuring the lower half of his body.

Kaydel held out a hand to stop him, giving a reassuring smile. "We're going to start moving all of that, but you need to let us know if the release of pressure hurts."

"Get everyone else out first." Kylo's arm protested his weight, and he let it collapse back underneath him. He could not concentrate enough past the pounding in his head to reach out with the Force. "They're more important."

Teela rolled her eyes and raised her hands. Kylo heard something shift. The resulting dust triggered another coughing fit. Once it had passed, Teela lowered her hands. "For the record, there's only a few people left, and Sonzy and Jess are perfectly capable of getting them out. There weren't too many people here to begin with. For a disaster, this one is pretty mild."

Kaydel set another piece of the ceiling a short distance away. "Also, Rey would kill us if we left you. She'll kill you, too, if she knew you tried to order us to."

"Oh, I'm sure she's well aware he'd try to. She knows you too well." Teela laughed softly and helped Kaydel lift a piece that cast a shadow over them for a moment as it passed over the hole that used to be a wall.

Kylo closed his eyes for a moment and then forced himself to open them again. He could still see Rey trapped under the shriveled tree in his dream. "Where is she?"

"At home," Teela answered a bit too quickly.

Kylo laughed and failed to stave off another cough. "Liar. She's at the scene."

Static muffled Poe's voice through Kaydel's comm. "Get outta there ASAP. There's a storm coming, and those winds are going to bring the whole building down."

Kaydel pressed a button on the comm. "We're still getting Master Ren out. Can you get a force field between us and the storm?"

"Not in time."

Kylo pushed himself up again and threw his other hand out. The remaining debris shot off his body and fell through the former wall. His legs throbbed with his head, but he forced himself onto his knees with a groan. Teela pulled his arm over her shoulders to help him up. Kylo's legs shook under him, and needles seemed to be poking his skin in small intervals.

Kaydel grabbed his other arm, and Kylo was too concerned about getting out of the building - of getting to Rey so that she would move out of harm's way - to care that the two Jedi had to nearly carry him to the emergency staircase. His head throbbed with every attempted step.

The comms on the two Jedi's wrists chirped feebly, the sound echoing oddly off the damaged walls. Jumbled static managed to emit from Teela's, but the channel cut out before anyone could communicate.

Kylo could sense their strain as they finished the first flight of stairs, and they paused for a moment at the top of the second. Something above them creaked ominously. "I'm getting feeling back." He swallowed, forcing back a cough. "It's only two more flights. I can walk it."

Teela raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. "You're not falling and cracking your head open just because you're stubborn. We'll use the Force. Don't know why we didn't before."

The Force pressed along his tingling legs, helping his body defy gravity enough for Teela to support him by herself. Kaydel walked in front, making sure neither of them fell.

"Kylo!"

The voice echoed up the stairwell, and they all froze.

"Rey? What the stars are you doing?" The pounding in Kylo's head increased with his heartrate, and he struggled to focus on their bond.

"The storm's about to hit. I had to make sure."

The sheer panic in Rey's voice made his chest ache, and he sped up with Teela's help. "We'll be out in a minute." His voice cracked with a cough, his body shaking against the Mirialan. She held him tight and kept going. "Get back to Poe and be ready with some water. Please, Rey."

They reached a landing and rounded the corner. Rey stood at the bottom of the next flight, her eyes wide. For a moment, Kylo saw her with the same expression near that enormous tree.

He stepped down the first stair, and something creaked again. The Force screamed against the pounding in his head, and he watched the stairs above them fall onto his wife.


	7. Worry

Rey set her face into a stern expression. "If I'm going to be a good parent, I have to say no sometimes."

Arian blinked at her and reached for the chocolate in Rey's hand. She hesitated. Her stomach grumbled, and the scavenger in her said to eat it before anyone else, but the child, the sweet little boy who loved Kylo almost as much as she did, wanted the sweet.

Slowly, she broke the chocolate in half and let the small hand curl around one of pieces. Arian's eyes lit up, and he giggled as the chocolate smeared over his lips and only partially went into his mouth. Rey grinned and bit down on her own piece. "Good, huh? Finn doesn't understand how great chocolate is."

Arian reached for his Tooka doll, getting chocolate over the blue arms. He held it out to her, and Rey took it gently, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have to share your doll."

Arian wiggled his hands in the air. Rey tried to give the doll back, but he pushed it back.

"Rey! A chocolate Tooka play date, I see." Poe grinned and plopped into a chair. He opened the back of chocolate and broke off a piece for himself. "Has Skywalker messaged about his trip at all?"

"I think he sent something to Kylo." Rey searched her memories for what Kylo had mentioned. "Two Force sensitives, I think? Siblings."

Poe nodded and broke off another piece of chocolate. "The Force mojo is alive and well, I suppose? Skywalker's been off on a lot of trips discussing younglings lately."

Rey nodded, wiping Arian's chocolate-covered mouth. "Yeah. The age groups are starting to get bigger. I'm hoping Jess and Sonzy can start teaching the older ones, especially once Miss No Name comes."

She rubbed her stomach in an unconscious motion. Her head started to throb lightly, as if thinking about the appearance of the being in her belly was too stressful.

Poe grinned. "Jess seems to get on with Arian well. I'm sure she'd like to help." He shrugged and shook his head. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but Kaydel spends far too much time with ships. She can help, too, she just won't volunteer unless it involves flying."

Rey laughed, and Arian giggled as if trying to take part in the conversation. "She's making good headway on the _Falcon_ restoration, though. She's an excellent mechanic."

Poe nodded vigorously. "I know! I was stuck on trying to bypass that coolant system for a week. I'd steal her for the pilot core if she wasn't a Jedi. Although…"

Rey laughed at the expression on his face. "Don't go stealing the Jedi, Poe. There are plenty of pilots and not nearly enough Jedi."

Poe shrugged and spoke around a mouthful of chocolate. "I had to try." The comm on his wrist beeped in rapid succession, and he swallowed the chocolate before answering. "General Dameron."

An official voice with worry laced in the words spoke urgently, "There's been an accident downtown. A1 shuttle crashed and pushed a cargo ship into a building."

Poe stood, fastening the top of his green uniform jacket. "Send me the location and get a mobile command center onsite. How many buildings are down?"

"Only one has been hit, but it's still standing. We think a Jedi was inside, or there would've been more damage."

Poe locked eyes with Rey, and she started toward the door before looking back at Arian. The youngling's eyes were wide, and tears swam in the corners.

Rey drew on her bond with Kylo. His familiar presence was faint, as if he had left the planet. She could feel her hands shaking. "Go. I'll get him to the school and meet you there." She picked up Arian, holding him close to her chest. "Poe?"

The pilot looked back at her, and Rey could sense the tension in the Force. "I… can't feel him in the Force. Let me know if it's him."

* * *

Smoke plumed from the building. The part of a cargo ship jutted out from the side, creating an odd shadow on the ground. Coruscant authorities flirted around the scene, some redirecting traffic with others surveyed the wreckage.

The back of Rey's head throbbed. Worry clenched her chest and restricted her breathing, but she ignored Poe's attempts to get her to sit down. She would have felt if Kylo had been killed, but she could barely sense him through the bond. Even when he was unconscious in a bacta tank, his mind was strong against her own.

"I'm sure he's fine, Rey. He's been through worse." Poe gave a strained smile. He stood in front of several glowing monitors, listening to the chatter of the rescue crews. Other officers relayed commands to the crews with droids hovering or rolling around their feet frantically. The area reminded Rey of the Resistance's last attack on Snoke's base all those years before, except she had been in the field instead of waiting and watching.

"We've got some of the Jedi coming out," a woman said in a voice just failed to conceal her relief.

Rey turned sharply and stepped just out of the small tent. Several unconscious forms floated just a few feet from the ground followed by Jessika and Sonzy, their hands raised to steady the Force around the victims of the crash.

"Finn!" Poe's shout broke Rey's trance, and she ran forward with him. Poe grabbed his husband's hand, his knuckles pale with the tightness of the grip.

Finn's eyes fluttered for a moment before closing again. He mumbled something incoherent. Medical teams with droids rushed forward, surrounding Finn and extracting Poe's hand away as they examined Finn.

Poe wrapped Jessika in his arms, and her voice muffled against his shoulder. "I think he'll be okay. He was awake when we found him, but he probably inhaled a lot of smoke."

Poe looked relieved, his eyes trained on Finn as he was bustled away to an emergency speeder. He made to follow, but one of the officers stopped him and spoke in a low voice.

Rey pressed a hand to her stomach, a habit she'd fallen into the last few weeks. "Did you find Kylo?"

Jessika shook her head. Soot smeared her face, and she looked exhausted. "No. We're ready to go back in – "

"Poe," the comm on the pilot's wrist crackled to life with Kaydel's voice. "We found Master Ren. He's got a lot of the ceiling on him, but he's waking up. Should be down in fifteen."

Rey closed her eyes, focusing her mind on the Force. The throbbing in the back of her head increased, but she ignored it as she pulled on her bond with Kylo. Nausea flipped her stomach as if she was standing in a spinning ship.

"Rey? You okay? You should sit." Jessika's hands were on her shoulders, and Rey felt her knees buckle ungracefully into a chair.

Rey's stomach flipped again, and she sucked in a slow breath as Kylo's voice repeatedly quoting the med droid's advice flooded her memory. "Something's wrong…"

Jessika ran a hand over Rey's shoulder slowly. She was sure the young Jedi meant it to be comforting, but the worry that exuded from her was not. Jessika did not hide her emotions in the Force as well as Teela could.

Wind whipped at the tent canvas overhead, and Rey suddenly realized how dark it had gotten. Poe was speaking urgently several officers, who all had mixed expressions of nervousness and alarm. "Sorry, sir. We – We don't know what happened."

Poe tapped wildly on a datapad. "Stars, this planet is going to hell," he grumbled. BB-8 rolled around the pilot's legs, beeping and whirring a rapid warning. "Yeah, I know, buddy. Can you call any droids to form an emergency shield?"

BB-8's red headlight flashed, and the droid was quiet for a long moment. Poe was still tapping, his fingers occasionally twitching nervously to the comm on his wrist before returning to the screen. At another sad beep from BB-8, Poe hit the comm, his voice low and urgent. "Get outta there ASAP. There's a storm coming, and those winds are going to bring the whole building down."

Rey stood abruptly, her mind racing. Poe and Jessika's faces blurred in front of her, obscuring the worry that broadcasted in the Force. Their voices jumbled with the chatter of the officers around them, and she vaguely wondered if they all could hear the pounding in her chest. Her head throbbed. Something in her stomach fluttered.

A spike in the Force, slight but tangible through the disjointedness of her senses. Kylo. Before she realized what she was doing, her shoes crunched over the wreckage of the destroyed building.

* * *

A bright light met Rey's eyes, and she squeezed them shut. Something pulled at her skin as she tried to raise her hand to shield the light. She moved her legs to sit up, but her ankle throbbed in time with an ache in her head.

She shifted to press the side of her face against a soft pillow and cracked open her eyes again, blinking rapidly to adjust to the light. A needle rested in the back of her hand, infusing her with a clear liquid. The room around her was sterile white with a blue chair near a monitor. A med droid shuffled past the open door in the corridor outside.

A soft groan sounded to her other side, and she turned her head. Kylo sat on a low chair nearby, his long form hunched over as he slept with his head propped on his arm against the side of her mattress. His other hand clutched hers.

A top that looked like it belonged to a medical staff member stretched over his torso and revealed an inch of his midriff that expanded with each deep breath. Rey squeezed his hand for a moment before reaching to brush his dark hair from his face.

Kylo inhaled sharply, and his eyes flickered open. His voice was groggy as he murmured, "Rey. Thank the stars you're awake."

Rey felt a smile pull at her lips that mirrored the one growing on Kylo's. "I feel like a bantha decided to use me as a bed."

Kylo snorted and sat up, wincing as his back audibly popped several times. He rubbed the back of his head, which pulled the too-small top further up over his abdomen. "Yeah, I can feel that." He pressed a hand to her stomach. "I can feel her, too."

Rey exhaled slowly, tension she had not noticed slowly releasing from her shoulders. She placed her hand over Kylo's. "She's okay. You saved us."

Kylo shook his head. "I tried, but I needed a few hours in a bacta tank before I could pull that off." He sighed slowly. "Jess saved you and got… impaled on a rod that would've gone into you and our little girl."

Rey sat up so fast that black spots danced in her vision. Her heart thudded in her chest. "What? She wasn't anywhere near – Jess? Is she alive?" She did not feel grief in the Force, but she did not trust her senses just yet. "Stars, I shouldn't've gone in for you, but I just had this awful feeling, and I wasn't thinking straight. Oh stars. Jess. Is she okay?"

Kylo gently pressed her back against the bed, giving a small smile. "The med droids had to perform surgery on her to correct the damage. They were dropping her in a bacta tank when I was waking up. They think she'll pull through just fine."

Rey swatted his shoulder. "Kylo Ren, you do not start with the terrible news first!"

Kylo raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. She'll be out of commission for a bit." He chewed his lip for a moment, and Rey felt a small swell of nerves coming from him. "And, uh, so will you."

"I will what?"

"Be out of commission." His chair slid back just out of swatting reach. "They want you on bed rest."

Rey rolled her eyes. "Very funny. You sound like Finn."

"I'm not joking. It's probably only for a few weeks, but they were worried about this stress."

"A few weeks! But we're still preparing for her, and I'm teaching, and – and I have that trip to Jakku next week. I don't have time to just lie in bed."

"The time is here, Rey. We'll figure this out." Kylo raised a hand to cut off her protest. "If anything, you owe this to Jess for risking her life to save our child. Rest for her. For me. For our family. Just… calm down."

Rey settled back in the bed and nodded slowly. "Fine. But I get to be back home, right?" At Kylo's nod, she closed her eyes for a moment before a jolt went through her. "Stars! Poe must be a wreck."

"I'm only a wreck when people run into burning buildings while six months pregnant," Poe said from the doorway. Finn trailed in behind the pilot, wearing the same shirt Kylo had on underneath Poe's green uniform jacket. He grinned and sank into the chair nearby, exhaustion slumping his posture. Poe sat on the chair's arm, his hand resting on Finn's shoulder. "And no, we don't have impeccable timing, I just figured we shouldn't barge into Ren's inevitable need to convince you to rest."

Kylo gave Rey a pointed look before asking, "Jess?"

Poe leaned forward and sighed, relief flooding through the Force. "Jess, thank the Maker, is all right. Another hour or so in the bacta, and she should be good as new."

Rey nodded and let Kylo take her hand again. "What about the others? Are they all right?"

Poe nodded and ticked the young Jedi off on his fingers. "Kaydel's at the crash site looking at holocam footage of the crash, Sonzy's asleep in the bacta room, and Teela's bringing Arian over, who was apparently very upset, by the way, so you two owe that poor youngling a lot of attention."

Kylo shook his head and ran his free hand through his hair. "His Force sensitivity is… interesting. I've never met someone so young with his range before. He probably sensed our stress."

A soft knock on the door, and Teela entered with Arian in her arms, the Tooka doll squeaking as the youngling hugged it. "He'll be a lot better if he gets to be held by you, Master."

Kylo rose and took Arian, who curled against his shoulder with a content expression. Teela held a black shirt out. "Also thought you'd like a shirt that actually fits."

Kylo gratefully took the shirt but draped it over Arian's shoulders. "Thanks. I'll be fine for a while."

He sat back in the low chair by Rey's bed, rubbing Arian's back with a thumb. Teela sat on the end of Rey's bed, taking care not to disturb her. "I brought your sabers back home. Master Ren, I think yours will need some attention; it dented in the crash."

Kylo grimaced. "I hope the crystal didn't crack."

Teela's fingers played with the hem of her shirt. "I didn't check the blade, but I don't think the dent was near the crystal."

Kylo took the Tooka doll from Arian as the youngling held it out to him. He wiggled the doll in a small dance for Arian. "It's getting harder to find them, and the younglings are getting older."

"Of course it's crowded in here," Sonzy said from the doorway. He pushed a hoverchair containing Jessika, who did not look at all happy to be confined to the chair.

Poe and Finn's faces lit up, and Poe stood. "What're you doing here? You should be sleeping off the bacta."

Jessika waved off Poe's hovering, although her expression told Rey she was barely keeping herself awake. "Had to make sure Rey was all right."

Arian reached toward Jessika, and Sonzy took the youngling from Kylo to let Arian sit in Jessika's lap. She smiled tiredly. "Hey, little guy. You missed the action today." Poe held out a hand to make sure Arian did not fall, earning a half-hearted glare from Jessika.

Rey glanced at her husband and squeezed his hand as a strange expression crossed his face. Kylo met her eyes, smiling slightly.

"Leia."

"Leia." Rey pressed her hand against her swollen stomach again, knowing exactly what Kylo meant. "Our little girl is Leia, isn't she?"


	8. Irritation

"D'you think the Force was telling you something?"

Kylo shrugged, flipping over his piece of chocolate in his fingers. "I don't know. I'm not sure if that dream was warning me of something or if I'm just anxious."

Rey reached into the bag and bit into more chocolate. "I don't know _why_ you'd be anxious. It's not like you're confined to sitting so that you can push a baby out of you."

Kylo snorted and glanced at Rey with a raised eyebrow. "We both wanted a baby. Besides, you felt my concussion. You don't think I'm going to feel _that_?"

They stared at one another in silence for several moments as Kylo's words set in. Then Rey laughed, the joyful sound resonating around the sitting room. "We're screwed."

Kylo nodded, grinning in spite of himself at her laugh. "Yes. Yes, we are."

Rey tried curling her legs closer to her chest, but after a minute of struggling, she settled for stretching them out over Kylo's lap. The heated blanket wrapped around her radiated warmth into his sore muscles. She reached into the bag of chocolate and came out empty, her eyes darting to the piece in Kylo's hand. Wordlessly, he handed it to her.

She bit off half of it and followed his gaze to the crossguarded lightsaber resting on the table by the couch. "When are you going to Ilum?"

Kylo pressed his lips together for a moment and shook his head. "Soon, I suppose. The Senate might have a meltdown if I show off a saber with a cracked crystal again."

Rey shrugged and licked some melted chocolate off her thumb. "I'm not sure how they've lasted almost six months without accusing you with so much as letting a lightbulb burn out. They'll need something to complain about."

"Maybe they're actually getting galactic affairs done," Poe said in a grumble as he sank into a chair across from them.

Jessika trailed in behind him, a blanket over her shoulders. "Doubtful. Teela says they've been debating starship races."

Poe rolled his eyes, but Kylo felt a small spark of excitement from the pilot. "Again? Their last consensus was that intersystem races are too dangerous."

"I suspect they just don't want to discuss budgets." Jessika rearranged her blanket and curled up underneath it on another couch. Her auburn hair fell past her shoulders, out of its usual bun, but the color had returned to her face since the hospital. Kylo expected her to get restless before the end of the week, especially around Rey.

Poe rubbed his face with his palms and sighed. "The Coruscant emergency response chief is inspecting vids of the crash along with a select committee of Senate members."

Rey raised an eyebrow. "You're not?"

"Too close to the incident, apparently." Poe pressed his lips together. "Can't say I blame them; pretty much everyone I live with was involved. Teela somehow managed to get herself in the room at least, so she can identify when Ren slowed the cargo ship."

Jessika held up her datapad with a sheepish grin. "You know, if you look hard enough on the HoloNet, people posted vids that their droids recorded."

Poe sat up straight, his eyes wide. "What? Let me – " He paused, and several expressions flitted over his face as if he was trying to reconcile the want to see the videos with his professional duties and fatherly responsibilities. Eventually, he sighed, settling on a stern father tone. "Jess, you were supposed to be resting, not working."

She rolled her eyes and held out the datapad. "I did, but there's only so much resting I can do before I go crazy."

Poe slowly took the datapad, eyeing his adopted daughter carefully. "I suppose you look all right…"

"Yeah, yeah, just watch." Jessika exchanged a look with Kylo, who tried very hard not to let a grin form on his face.

Poe tapped several times on the datapad, and the holoprojector flickered to life over the table.

A Coruscant street bobbed up and down, presumably recorded by a protocol droid as it followed its master, a young woman with bright purple hair, down the street. The woman glanced behind her and waved her hand. "Keep up, C8. We should be back to the flat before Skaa gets home. You know he doesn't like when I shop."

The bouncing sped up and continued past several store fronts before a shadow fell over the street. "That's strange. Is the weather system acting up again?"

The woman looked up, and her eyes widened almost comically as the screeching noise of durasteel against durasteel sounded above. The droid's camera pointed up to catch a shuttle ripping against the side panels of a cargo ship. The ship veered off course, plummeting straight toward a tall building.

Its descent slowed as if the air had suddenly become viscous. Kylo felt Rey squeeze his hand, but he could not look away. The shuttle hovered nearby, and the droid's recording jostled away from the ships with the sudden influx of beings on the street running. It followed the woman with purple hair, bumping into several fleeing Twi'leks until a loud noise of the cargo ship hitting the building drowned out everything else. The recording went black.

Kylo swallowed heavily. He remembered cracking his head against the observation window, but he had not heard the sound of the impact. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He turned to Rey, who gave him an encouraging smile. "It's good you were there. More people would've died."

He nodded slightly and took a breath to dispel the twisting in his stomach. The sound reminded him of the Star Destroyer _Finalizer_ 's crash into Snoke's base. Despite several years since the Resistance's victory, he still could not think of that battle without feeling sick from the massive loss of life.

Jessika took the datapad back from Poe and tapped several times. The holo flickered and portrayed a paused image of the shuttle hitting the cargo ship. "What's that shuttle model?"

"A Nu-class." Poe leaned forward to study the image. "Beautiful antique. It's an old attack shuttle from the Clone Wars. I'm surprised it still runs, to be honest, but those things _were_ made to last over a battlefield."

Jessika kept her expression cool, but Kylo could sense her excitement. "So that class is rare, then? You wouldn't expect many of them?"

Poe grinned and shook his head. "Nope. Maybe only a handful still running in the galaxy, if that. I don't think they recovered it, so it should be easy to find that pilot and find out why the crash happened."

Jessika let out a slow breath. "That's the shuttle Teela and I saw that Force box getting loaded into during the Peace Festival."

Rey inhaled sharply and began coughing around her final piece of chocolate. Kylo rubbed his hand over her back until she gasped, a tear running down her face. " _What_?"

Jessika nodded earnestly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'll ask Teela to make sure, but I'm fairly certain."

Kylo leaned forward, wrapping a hand around Rey's legs so they would not slide off his knees. His wife hummed softly, her confusion and apprehension mirroring his. "Then what was in that box?"

Poe sprang to his feet and left the room, returning with his datapad. He tapped the screen several times, nearly running into the table. "I didn't check the shipyard logs since I assumed they took off right away at the festival."

"They did," Jessika answered with a frown. "But they must've come back. Which is strange since it's a rare shuttle – easy to identify."

Poe pressed his lips together, shaking his head as he sank back into his chair. "There must be some reason." He glanced at the holocron on the wall and sighed. "Finn's probably asleep. He might know something else about this ship that I'm missing since he loves reading about the Clone Wars."

"Jess should be sleeping, too," Sonzy said from the door. He held a bag full of little containers and handed one to each of them before making himself comfortable next to Jessika.

"But how would I eat this if I was sleeping?" Jessika grinned widely and opened her container.

Sonzy shrugged. "The more rest, the sooner I can get back to beating you in sparring."

Jessika rolled her eyes and swatted the Togruta's shoulder. "I could beat you right now."

"Yeah, like you beat me last week?" Sonzy snorted and grabbed a spoon from his bag, setting it in Jessika's container.

Kylo flipped open his own to find a scoop of bantha cream inside. With a flick of his finger, two spoons rose from Sonzy's bag. He handed one to Rey only to find her licking her scoop. She gave him a small smile and took the utensil slowly.

"That was a fluke. The Force was on your side that day." Jessika shot Sonzy a half-hearted glare and took a bite of her bantha cream.

Sonzy snorted and shook his head, turning his attention to the holo. "Oh, did we get the vids from the accident?"

"In a manner of speaking." Kylo pointed to the shuttle with his spoon. "I doubt this was a complete accident."

Sonzy made a soft noise around his cream."I'm not that surprised." Poe and Rey gave him the same look, and he shrugged.

Jessika nodded in agreement. "A lot of stuff happens to us, but they're rarely an isolated incident, are they? Those attempts on you, Master Ren, a while back was the First Order trying to get rid of you or at least out of a position to help the Republic before Snoke realized he had to use you instead of Eeth."

Kylo did not need the reminder of Snoke occupying his body; his dreams frequently took him back to that day. He almost preferred that memory to thinking of Eeth, however. The Zabrak had not yet been recovered from the accident, but those found dead had been residents of his patient floor.

He frowned slightly and shook himself out of his thoughts, eyeing Jessika and Sonzy. Jessika's blanket covered half of Sonzy's legs. "But the First Order is gone. There hasn't been any incidents of pocket rebellions since we took down Snoke."

Poe groaned and stood, rubbing his face with his palms. "As much excitement as living with Force users is, I need sleep. We can brainstorm new threats in the morning."

Rey glanced at Kylo, her bantha cream already finished. "Come on, we can dwell on this more in the morning."

Kylo glanced at the frozen holo of the shuttle before nodding. His first priority was Rey, and he could keep her safe by staying close. He scooped up her heated blanket and held out a hand to help her up. She brushed him away and used the couch as leverage to get to her feet. They bid good night to the two young Jedi and headed down the hall to their room.

Rey let out a long breath, and Kylo felt a wave of frustration. "I'm going to go insane, Kylo."

Kylo raised an eyebrow, glancing down at his wife. "We'll figure out who's behind this."

"I know that." She gave him a dry look. "I need to _move._ It's only been two days."

"You're moving now. We can walk around more." Another wave of frustration radiated off her, and he sighed. "It's just for a few weeks until the baby is further along."

"At least Jess gets to spar soon," she grumbled under her breath. "Finn confiscated my lightsaber."

"I'll get that back, Rey." The door slid shut behind them, and Kylo set the blanket on Rey's side of the bed.

Rey stood at the bottom of the bed, staring at the sheets and blankets. "I can't, Kylo. I've been sitting for two days. I don't feel tired."

Kylo ran a hand through his hair, unsure of how to help. He tried to sit with her as often as he could, but with her at home and Luke off-planet, he had begun teaching more of the older younglings. He did not blame her for being frustrated. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing a soft kiss to her neck. "What do you need?"

Rey let out a long breath, her shoulders sagging as she leaned against him. "Read me something."

Kylo knew she could feel his surprise, but he nodded slightly. "All right. But you need to at least sit on the bed."

Rey groaned and plopped onto the bed in a movement reminiscent of Poe. Kylo rescued his datapad from the pile of blankets on the edge of the mattress and made himself comfortable. Rey stayed sitting on the side, watching him over her shoulder. Kylo pulled the blanket toward him with the Force. "If you don't use your heated blanket, I'll steal it."

"You'll cook under it, and you don't look as handsome with red skin." Rey grinned and curled up next to him.

Kylo pulled the warm blanket over her and wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "And what do you want me to read?"

"The one where a girl from a desert planet kicks the ass of this guy who wears a ridiculous mask, and they somehow fall in love."

Kylo laughed and shook his head. "I _might've_ heard of that one, but I don't remember how it ends."

Rey grinned and rested her head on his shoulder. "What did you read as a youngling?"

"A lot of Senate memos."

Rey rolled her eyes and jabbed her elbow against Kylo's side. "I'm serious. I want to hear everything we can read to Little Leia."

Kylo chuckled and tapped open the saved holobooks on his datapad. "Fine. There's one where a royal Twi'lek is trapped in a tower."


	9. Tribulations

"Don't hold the hilt so loosely." Kylo knelt down and adjusted the youngling's grip on the practice saber. "And bring it up a little. Good, like that."

Kylo straightened and glanced around the semi- circle of younglings. Most were barely eight years old, an age group he rarely worked with. Rey was better at handling younglings; she had the patience he lacked. An assistant sat in the corner, watching the lesson out of the corner of her eye while she entertained Arian on her lap. The child forced Kylo to calm himself through the younglings' persistent questions, lest Arian pick up on his annoyance.

"Feel the Force around the blade. In the hands of anyone, the lightsaber is a blunt weapon. But in the hands of a Jedi, it is much more." He wished his saber was working properly to give his own demonstration, but with a chip in the crystal, the purple blade sputtered too often. He did not want to scare the younglings in front of him, especially during a lesson on controlling the lightsaber. "We can channel the Force within and around the blade. Knight Ki will demonstrate."

Kylo drew the small blaster pistol and aimed it at Sonzy. The Togruta's blue lightsaber hummed to life and whirred in a quick circular motion to deflect Kylo's shot. The younglings broke into soft exclamations to each other. Sonzy grinned at them, clipping his hilt back to his belt. "It's easy once you get the hang of feeling the Force around the blade."

Kylo lifted his hand, and the small round droids rose into the air on his command. "Try to follow the droids with your practice sabers."

The five green practice lightsabers activated, and the younglings held them uneasily as the droids hovered from side to side in front of them. Sonzy pulled out his saber and held it up next to one of the younglings – a small Tholothian with dark skin. "Like this."

The Tholothian watched Sonzy's movements intently. Kylo looked over his shoulder as he felt another assistant a few moments before he appeared in the doorway. "Master Ren? Sorry to interrupt, but there's someone to see you? I couldn't turn him away."

Kylo glanced back at the younglings, but Sonzy waved him away. "Go ahead. I can finish the lesson."

He slipped into the hall and caught a glimpse of a short Gungan behind the assistant at the end of the hall. Annoyance shot through him, and he lowered his voice to the young assistant. "I thought we had a mandate that no reporters were allowed in the school. Younglings are here, and they deserve privacy."

The assistant shrank away, and Kylo felt a flare of nervousness and apology through the Force. "I'm sorry, Master Ren, but he was rather insistent, and well," he swallowed and gave an apologetic look, "he kind of slipped past me. I only just stopped him before he barged into your lesson, and then he threatened to write how the Jedi are hiding something if I kicked him out."

Kylo closed his eyes and took a slow breath through his nose. The assistant was new and did not deserve to see his temper for the actions of an annoying journalist. He pulled on Rey's calm through their bond and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. Just go back to the front and don't let anyone else in."

The assistant gave a small squeak and rushed down the hall, passing by the Gungan without looking at him. Kylo followed at a slower pace and crossed his arms over his chest. "I do believe we asked the media to leave the school alone."

The Gungan held out a webbed hand. "Flash Zizz. Nice to sees yousa, Master Jedi." When Kylo did not shake his hand, he pulled it back to his chest and glanced back at the datapad clutched in the other. "I️ just had soma questions on the cargo ship crash."

Kylo stared at Zizz, trying not to just throw him out with the Force. "We've released a statement about our involvement."

"Yesa. But Master Rey Solo wasa there toos." He looked around hopefully, as if Rey might materialize nearby. "She looksa pregnant."

Kylo raised an eyebrow, eyeing Zizz carefully. "The Senate is aware of her pregnancy. I assumed the media did, too."

Flash stared as if his dreams had come true and then began tapping furiously on the datapad. Kylo scowled and took a step to close the distance between them. Physically forcing the Gungan out would likely end him up in front of the Senate for excessive force.

"The rumor was never confirmed until now." Zizz looked up and jumped as he found Kylo towering over him. He took a step back but did not seem ready to leave. "Wesa need details! She must be due soon if yousa have her classes."

Kylo stared at the Gungan in hopes he would be intimidated away. Undeterred, Zizz asked, "Male or female? Name yet?"

Kylo turned and began walking down the hall. Luke's Force signature blazed a floor above. If he could get his uncle to throw the reporter out, the media would not raise terror against him.

"Will yous be having the baby on Coruscant or will you return to your birth planet, Chandrila?" Zizz followed him at a jog, his datapad held up and his large ears flapping behind him. Kylo forced himself not to respond. "Any concern about the public's reaction to the offspring of Kylo Ren? That another descendant of Darth Vader will inevitably become a Dark Sider?"

Kylo stopped. Zizz slammed into the right side of his back. Kylo turned slowly, and a small part of him felt immense satisfaction as the first flicker of fear crossed the Gungan's long face. "Get out."

"Mesa just trying to inform the public of the magnificent Jedi?" Zizz gave a sheepish grin and tried to take a step closer, but the Force stopped him as if he had run into a wall.

Kylo's hand drifted to the dented lightsaber at his belt, and he did not try to hide the dangerous tone in his voice. "Now."

Zizz's big eyes flicked to the saber, and he slowly backed away. "Can wesa set up an interview?"

Kylo's hand tightened on the saber, and he barely reined in the Force from shoving Zizz down the hall. Instead, the blade burst to life in his hand. It hummed for a moment before sputtering into a crackle.

Zizz turned and hurried down the hall, tapping on the datapad furiously. Kylo swept into an empty classroom, breathing as if he had been running. The crackling saber cut through a durasteel table before he remembered to thumb off the blade. He smashed the side of his fist against the window. Cracks appeared under it, and he watched them grow as he felt he leaned his forehead against the cool transparisteel.

Kriff.

* * *

"It can't've been that bad." Rey ran her fingers slowly through Kylo's hair. "I️ mean, yes, I did feel that burn that always comes when you're pissed off, but you've been getting better at reining it in."

He would pay for his temper, if not through the Senate at least in the media. He usually stayed away from the news cycles, but since Eeth's disappearance after the crash, he kept his eye on it in case a Zabrak showed up. At least he had not broken anything of the Gungan's, although the part that had enjoyed his fear wished he had shattered the datapad

Kylo adjusted the position of his head on Rey's lap, letting the heat of her blanket deep into his tense shoulders. "I️ threw out a reporter. It'll be on the HoloNet by tonight, and the Senate will be at the door in the morning."

Rey played with some strands of his hair and let out a slow breath. "It's not like they can do much. It _is_ a private school, and you're one of the heads. You have the right to throw anyone out. Actually, didn't you mostly pay for the building?"

" _We_ did, but yes." Kylo closed his eyes, forcing himself to take another deep breath. He had put a significant portion of his mother's inheritance to rebuilding the school, in part to avoid the Senate trying to control every aspect of the school.

A feeling of warmth and reassurance flooded through the bond. "It'll be fine, Kylo." Her lips pressed to his forehead before her fingers continued running through his hair. "But maybe we should have Leia on another planet. Get away from the Senate for a few weeks."

Kylo opened one eye to look at her. "You just want to travel."

"Of course I do." Rey laughed and gave him a brilliant smile. "And that would put some distance between us and Flash Zizz, annoying reporter extraordinaire."

Kylo paused, considering his wife's words. "That's true… though Finn and Poe might not react well to not being around for the birth."

Rey waved her hand dismissively. "They can come, too. They'll need to keep you occupied anyway since you'll try to lessen the pain."

Kylo sat up, raising an eyebrow. "You're not going to let me help? I've endured a lot of pain, Rey; I can take it."

Rey gave him a dry look. "You'll be on the floor in a ball."

"I've been shot in the hip and managed to keep fighting." Kylo slid his shirt up enough to expose the scar that had formed from Hux's blaster as proof.

Rey rolled her eyes. "Not the same thing. Look, Jessika sent me some articles on labor, and I finally read that stuff the med droid sent. They say that nothing compares." She poked the scar. "Not even a measly blaster shot."

Kylo frowned and slowly lay back down. "I can still help."


	10. Unease

_The massive tree loomed overhead, the lower branches – thicker than several Hutts – barely visible under the clouds. Deep green moss covered the trunk, but no other creatures roamed the ground where roots occasionally curved. The air felt eerily silent as if waiting for something to happen._

_Something about the tree called to Kylo. He stepped forward, his hand held out to touch the moss-covered trunk._

" _Kylo Ren."_

_He turned, his fingers hovering in the air just over the moss. Rey wore the thin Jakku clothes she had been wearing when they first met. She raised a blaster pistol at him, her eyes narrowed with hate. "Get out of my head."_

_She pulled the trigger, and the blaster bolt whipped past his face. He turned to watch it hit the massive tree and paused._

_Teela perched on a large, curved root. She was smaller than he remembered, and the black tattoos across her face were only a few diamonds on her cheeks. She shrank under his gaze. "M-Master – Master Ren?"_

_She looked up, and Kylo craned his neck with her. The small figure of Kaydel jumped through the thick branches of the enormous tree, her giggles echoing down to him._

" _Master Ren!" Sonzy lounged against the massive trunk. His lekkus and montrals were short, his face round with youth. "Can you help her?"_

_He pointed, and Kylo followed his finger to a young girl who partially hid behind another thick root. Her auburn hair stuck out of a poorly done bun, and her eyes filled with tears as he started toward her. "Jessika?"_

" _Monster." Eeth stood over her, his lips curled into a sneer. His skin was void of the red tattoos, and his horns had not yet grown to full length, but his expression held the malice that had developed years later. "Are you going to let her die like you let me?"_

_Kylo reached for Jessika's hand, but she pulled away with a squeak. "No… I saved her… That day on Chandrila…"_

" _You destroyed her. You destroyed all of them." Eeth stepped over the small Jessika, his horns growing with every step. "The Force ruined all of us."_

_Kylo held out a hand to stop the Zabrak's advances. "I didn't mean for any of that to happen to you. I'm sorry, Eeth."_

_A red hand closed around his throat. "You will be."_

Kylo pulled in a sharp breath and kept his eyes closed. He knew he would see his wife asleep beside him, but a small part of him believed the tree would be just beyond his eyelids. He listened carefully. Footsteps a floor above pounded across the floor, and a loud thunk followed by a laugh came from somewhere within the house.

"Kylo?" Rey's strong voice shattered the last of the dream. She shifted next to him, and Kylo finally let his eyes open, relieved to find his wife sitting against the headboard. She gave a worried smile. "Your heart is racing."

"Just a dream." He sat up slowly, pushing his hair out of his face. A hand ghosted to his throat to reassure himself that Eeth was not there. "That tree again."

Concern flickered over Rey's face, and Kylo felt a pang of guilt for worrying her when she needed rest. "Did… Did I die again?"

He shook his head and glanced at the chronometer before laying back against the pillows. "No. Eeth was there…" He swallowed past a lump in his throat.

Rey's fingers tapped on her blanket for several long moments. "Maybe we should go away for a little while."

Kylo turned his head to look at her. His heart still thumped loudly in his chest, and he willed it to slow even through the twist in his stomach. "But you're–"

"On bedrest. Yes, I know," Rey snapped. Kylo flinched, but he did not blame her. He would be in a worse mood if he had been in her position. She took a deep breath through her nose and sighed. "Sorry. Yes. But I can walk to a shuttle and rest in a hotel. Somewhere we can get away from everything before little Leia comes."

Kylo closed his eyes, considering her idea. "We'll already be away from teaching she when comes. And I don't know if Dr. Kalonia would like you leaving the planet."

"There are medical facilities on other planets, Kylo," Rey said in a dry voice. "And even though we now have Jedi – _that you trained –_ to teach those classes, we could give the younglings some time off, too. Those holidays you and Poe celebrate are coming up, aren't they?"

"Mmhm. Life Day is this year, too. It would be nice to see Chewbacca if we can find him." Kylo's datapad made a small noise, and he reached for it. He blinked rapidly to get used to the bright light and frowned at the list of messages. The twist in his stomach tightened into a knot. "That kriffing Gungan works fast."

He showed Rey a screen that read:

_Tension in the Jedi? Ren's Lightsaber Hints at Darkness_

_Plus an exclusive! Rey Solo Pregnant with Kylo Ren's Offspring_

_By Flash Zizz_

Rey rolled her eyes and tapped the screen. Kylo took it back to see she had closed out of the article. "It's not like we were hiding it at this point." She gently pushed the datapad away from his face. "What's wrong?"

Kylo scowled at the screen as if it was responsible for the problems piling up within it. "Senators are asking about my saber, and Luke says he felt a disturbance while meditating last night."

Rey's shoulders sagged. "You need to address the Senate and investigate the disturbance." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Didn't we train new Jedi to help us with these things?"

Kylo chewed his inner lip, reading the message from his uncle again. "Looks like the disturbance was around Rakata Prime, which is close to Ilum. I can investigate and then find a new crystal before coming back."

Rey sighed, and her frustration at not being able to join him radiated through the bond. "Three days, and then we need to get away from everything."

Kylo leaned in to kiss his wife. "Deal."

The Coruscant sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting rays onto the courtyard in front of the Jedi school. Yellow and green lightsabers clashed together in a sparring match a small distance away. Kylo watched Jessika's and Kaydel's feet moving as they danced around each other. While not as graceful as in a ship, Kaydel moved quickly, forcing Jessika to change her usual fighting style.

A luxury speeder drifted down to park nearby, and Kylo tore his gaze from the two Jedi to see a tall, blue Twi'lek climb out.

"Master Ren. It's good to see you." Senator Tomsega gave a smile and shook Kylo's hand. He took a step away, studying Kylo intently for a few moments. "How's Rey?"

"Restless, but she's healthy." Kylo turned back to watch the sparring match. "You're here about a certain article, I presume?"

Tomsega sighed, and Kylo saw him nod out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah. I figured you could use a friendly face before everyone else descends on this. Atsay wanted to come, too, but he's got a constituent meeting on his home planet." He looked uncertain and asked, "How is Jedi Pali doing?"

Kylo grimaced but nodded. "Teela seems to be enjoying her appointment in the Senate."

"I'm glad. She's become an invaluable asset on giving us insight into the Jedi perspective."

"I have noticed I'm spending less time in Senate inquiries." Kylo gave Tomsega a wry smile, and the Senator relaxed a little.

"You don't mind if I record this? You know how trusting the Senate is." Kylo nodded at his dry tone, and Tomsega pressed the comm on his wrist.

Kylo fingered the lightsaber at his hip. The dent was repaired, but the crystal within still could not maintain a stable blade. "What do you need to know?"

"Your lightsaber is… a 'crackling menace' according to the article in _Coruscant Daily_."

Kylo suppressed a roll of his eyes and decided he should not be surprised that Zizz had exaggerated. "The crystal that powers the blade was chipped in the crash a few weeks ago. I have not had time to find another, although I plan to within the week."

He sensed some hesitation from the Twi'lek, but the Senator took a deep breath. "There are… concerns on what it means, considering you wielded an unstable lightsaber as a member of the First Order."

"That crystal was cracked, too, but I assure you, the color has not changed and neither have I. It's just been damaged." Kylo paused as he watched Jessika and Kaydel circle each other, each unable to find the upper hand in their spar. "Kyber crystals are becoming sparse, however, with the Empire's excessive mining for their superweapons. It would help us grow the Jedi Order if the Senate would approve our request to send an exploration for more sources."

Tomsega gave a terse nod. "I'll bring it up with my committee when Teela returns."

Jessika struck forward, and Kaydel blocked her before their sabers exchanged a flurry of blows. Kylo glanced at the Twi'lek. "There's something else?"

Tomsega pressed his blue lips together. "The general public is becoming… anxious. Many of us have received comms from concerned constituents about Rey's pregnancy."

Kylo let out a slow breath, forcing down the burn in his stomach. "And? We aren't concerned with how their families are growing."

"No, but you're a public figure, whether you like it or not." Tomsega shook his head and made a frustrated noise. "As much as I don't agree with them, considering I know you and the other Jedi, I have to hear them out and let you know of their concerns." He gave an apologetic smile. "They're afraid of your bloodline."

"Of Vader."

Tomsega cleared his throat and inclined his head. "Well. Yes."

"You know, Leia Organa never fell to the Dark Side. Neither did Luke Skywalker nor did my wife." Kylo finally turned to meet Tomsega's gaze, his hand wrapped around the saber hilt at his belt. "My daughter will have the support that I never had. The public does not need to worry about a baby."

He glanced back at the two young Jedi, who were shaking hands. "I am curious to know why the Senate is taking a few scared comms about my unborn child and isn't looking further into the shuttle crash that killed several people."

Tomsega shook his head, one of his lekku falling behind his shoulder. "You know the Senate, Ren. There's still some lingering… thoughts in a few of the representatives from Kilnetel's fearmongering." He shuddered and chuckled at the look on Kylo's face. "I'm ashamed she was part of my race, and I'm working to undo her influence still. I'll get Senator Truski to bring the crash up in the Security Committee."

Kylo nodded once. "Thank you."

"Master. Senator." Jessika placed her hands on her hips, smiling politely. Something within Kylo started at how much she had grown from the scared youngling in his dream.

Kaydel gave Tomsega a bright smile. "Everything all right?"

Tomsega gave a curt nod. "Yes. Just clearing some things up with Master Ren." He glanced between the two and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Er, nice fight."

Jessika grinned. "Thank you. Can we help, ah, clear anything else up?"

Tomsega shook his head and held out a hand to shake Kylo's. "No, I've got all I need. Thanks, Ren."

The Twi'lek headed toward his parked speeder, and Kylo let out a slow breath. The knot in his stomach unclenched, and he thanked the stars he had not lost his temper again.

"Did you need us, Master?"

Kylo blinked back at Jessika and nodded. "Care for a trip to Rakata Prime?"


	11. Exertion

Rey took a bite of the chocolate muffin and glared at the image of Kylo. He had just signed off, but the comm projected his frozen face in flickering blue.

Fury threatened to well up again, and she took another bite. Of course Kylo got to go off on an adventure to investigate a disturbance while she sat at home because of their unborn child. He got to do everything lately, and what did she have to show for it? A chocolate craving and mood swings. Even her connection to the Force seemed to be off with her pregnancy, or she would have noticed that Kylo was getting to safety in that building during the crash, and she would not have been hurt and forced on bed rest.

She knew Kylo was doing everything he could to help her, but it still infuriated her that he could go on potentially dangerous missions without her.

"Master Ren feels guilty, you know."

Teela's voice snapped Rey out of her thoughts, and she blinked at the Mirialan. "Kylo feels what?"

Teela nodded, poking at her breakfast half-heartedly. "Guilty. About you being stuck at home."

Rey let out a slow breath, running her stomach unconsciously. "I know. And I know we can't just drop everything, especially with Luke getting older."

Teela gave a small smile. "I understand your frustration. Jess nearly tore her hair out when she was forced to rest, and I'm close to doing the same. I can't imagine how you feel."

Rey finally pressed a button on the comm, and Kylo's frozen face disappeared. "I'm close to tearing Kylo's hair out, not to mention my own."

"Imagine what that Zizz writer would make of that," Teela laughed. She pushed her plate away from her and gave another tired smile. "I wonder if little Leia will inherit his hair or yours."

Rey felt an involuntary smile pull at her lips, and she felt a flutter in her stomach. "Kylo insists he wants her to look like me, but I don't really know what I want her to look like."

"She'll be beautiful, and once she's born," Teela's pale face lit up in a mischievous grin, "Master Ren can pay you back by staying up all night with her while you go off on missions."

Rey laughed, the twist in her stomach dispelling. "I think that's fair."

Teela stood, pulling the bacta towel tighter around her shoulders. "Want to watch a holofim?"

Rey smiled up at at the young Jedi. "Sure. Go ahead and pick something out; I'll make some bang-corn."

Teela nodded and padded out of the kitchen. Rey watched her turn into the sitting room but could not convince herself to stand up just yet.

She looked down at her stomach, chewing on her lower lip. Then, feeling a little awkward, she spoke to the growing being with in her. "Do you know what a little troublemaker you already are?"

Almost in answer, her stomach fluttered. She pressed a hand to her belly, feeling another kick. "Stars, you're going to be so loved. You already are. We can't wait to meet you."

Slowly, as if she were just learning how to use the Force with Luke, Rey reached out. Beyond the life of the city and past the bright beacon of Teela nearby, she felt it. _Her_. Her child. She sensed a developing personality: wit and tenacity and stubbornness. And a fire that could only come from a child of Rey and Kylo Ren.

Her cheeks ached from the smile she had not realized she wore. "Hello, Leia."

* * *

Dirty swamp water splashed under Kylo's boot as he got off the ground speeder. The trees had grown thick, only allowing a fraction of the fading sunlight through the foliage.

He pulled his lightsaber from his belt and ignited the blade. The light of the saber cut through the darkness ahead before Kylo's blade sputtered, straining to maintain a proper loop with the broken crystal. Behind him, the green and yellow sabers of Kaydel and Jessika hummed to life.

A single black bird erupted from a nest high above, making all three Jedi jump. The Force seemed to twist around Kylo as if it was as unsure as he was about proceeding. He held up his sputtering lightsaber to peer between two thick tree trunks before climbing over a jumble of roots emerging through the water. His resulting splash rippled a green algae bloom, breaking it into large clumps.

"I don't like this." Although they could not sense anyone else nearby, Kaydel spoke in a whisper. "The Force feels… off here."

Kylo reached out with the Force and paused. The swamp hummed with life from the surrounding vegetation, but he could not sense any other creatures. "Where are the animals?"

Jessika ran her hand over a tree trunk and made a face at the gunk that came away on her fingers. "Pollution probably scared them off or killed them. The trees look sick, too."

Kylo took a step forward, his foot slipping on the uneven terrain. The disturbance rippled through the Force as he righted himself, and he grabbed onto a branch to avoid falling again.

His lightsaber hissed against the water, the hilt growing hot in his hand. Kylo deactivated the blade and clipped it back to his belt, the Force prickling around him. An insect landed on his neck, and he slapped it away.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Jessika murmured, holding her saber overhead to help Kylo see as she took the lead.

The branches overhead shuddered in a gust of wind. Kylo swallowed dryly, wishing he had brought a water canteen. His hair stuck to the sweat on his face, and he brushed it away. "I know."

Jessika dropped down from a root and splashed into the water, grimacing as the waterline covered her boots. "This doesn't feel like Vanis did when we sensed him manipulating the Force in the nightclub."

"No. It doesn't feel like a Force sensitive." The disturbance raced through Kylo again, and he sucked in a deep breath. "We're getting close."

Jessika's lightsaber hummed as she lowered it to duck under a low branch. The water lapped at Kylo's knees as he followed her. Behind him, Kaydel's saber brushed against the branch, and her blade hissed. The smell of burnt wood rose in the air.

They had stepped into a clearing that more resembled a lake. Across the water, trees lay scattered on the ground as if something had barreled into them without a thought. The swamp water, devoid of the algae that that covered the surface outside of the clearing, lapped against the dead wood.

They stopped in the middle of the clearing, and Kylo reached out again, his eyes closing as he concentrated on the Force. Past the vegetation. The bird that had scared them soared over the treetops. The water rippled around his legs.

There.

Kylo looked up, his heart hammering in his chest. What little light that had filtered through the trees had gone out.

The Force screamed.

An enormous arm swiped past him. Kaydel dived out of the way, but a claw cut her leg. Kylo grabbed his lightsaber, igniting his blade despite the sputtering crackle.

Kylo raised the shuddering saber defensively, preparing to strike as the huge beast pulled its arm back again. Jessika waded as quickly as possible to Kaydel, who had landed against a large tree.

A blow to the back of Kylo's head and shoulders threw him halfway across the clearing. He smacked into a tree, the air rushing out of his lungs.

His vision spun for several moments, giving him a blurry image of Jessika's yellow saber swinging. Something roared in pain. He pulled himself up, the effort made harder by the mud trying to keep him down. Kylo held out a hand, and his lightsaber hilt sprang from the water and into his hand again. He blinked and finally made out the shapes of two large creatures at least three times his height, their backs hunched into hideous faces with huge jaws. They converged on Jessika and Kaydel, who stood side-by-side with their sabers out.

Kylo looked around for something small but could only see the water and the mud that his boots were slowly sinking into. He gritted his teeth and threw his lightsaber hilt, using the Force to guide its projectile into the eye of the beast nearest the other Jedi.

Its huge form lurched, and beady eyes locked onto him with a snarl of rage. It took a step toward him, and its companion paused, seeming to be confused between the two prey in front of it and the aggressor who had harmed the other.

Kylo's saber flew back into his hand, and he flicked the mud off it. "Rancors! Get back to the _Falcon!"_

"We're not afraid! We can beat these things!" Jessika held out her saber for emphasis, but the second rancor had seemed to decide Kylo was the bigger threat. They both stomped through the water, causing waves to crash into Kylo's knees.

"I know you're not." Kylo thumbed his lightsaber on again, adjusting his grip on the weapon. "The _Falcon_ has a ventral turret."

Both Kaydel and Jessika began scrambling toward the edge of the clearing. Kaydel shouted across the clearing, "Don't face them alone! Come with us!"

"They'll only follow us; they're hungry." Kylo began moving away from the other Jedi, drawing the beasts toward him. "And we can't let them live."

He suspected smugglers had hid the beasts on Rakata Prime, for they were not native to swamplands. Jessika and Kaydel disappeared around a tree, and the sounds of their lightsabers breaking through obstacles in their path faded away. Even at a run, they would take at least ten minutes to get to the _Falcon_ and fire its engines.

Kriff.

Rey would berate him for his recklessness, but he had no doubt she would do the same if she had been in his position. It was better he stayed to keep the beasts away from the young Jedi.

Climbing a tree would only waste energy, and he doubted it would get him out of range. Running would slow him more than the beasts. Kylo stared up at the closest rancor, who had made its way through the water faster than he had anticipated. It swung an arm, and he ducked, hearing the claws slice through the air above him. He raised the saber, intent on cutting the offending appendage off. His saber crackled through the air before it sputtered. The blade lost several inches, missing the rancor's swinging arm.

Kylo swore and turned to dodge the rancor's other arm, slicing his sputtering blade through the thick skin of the beast's leg. He smelled charred flesh, and the rancor roared. The attack had not been deep enough to remove the limb, but at least his saber still worked. Kylo jumped on its outstretched arm and ran past its elbow, pulling on the Force to keep his balance despite the mud on his boots. He reached the beast's shoulder and raised the saber to cut into the rancor's head when a huge clawed hand snatched him off.

His lightsaber fell, but Kylo paid it no mind as the second rancor bellowed, enveloping him in a breath so rancid he nearly passed out. Its teeth scraped his leg and ripped easily through his trousers. Kylo slammed his boot down against the rancor's lower jaw, forcing it to stay open through the throbbing pain in his leg. The beast snarled, and Kylo pulled on the Force, barely able to move his hand within the rancor's grip. His boot slipped, and a sharp pain raced up his left hip. He twitched his hand, and the clawed one around him opened.

Time seemed to stop for a long moment, and then Kylo became aware of the air whistling in his ears. He reached out for something, anything, to grab onto before he slammed into the water below. His hand closed around something thick. He brought his other hand up to grip the hard surface and looked up into the face of the first rancor as he hung from one of its long fingers.

Rey would kill him if he died.

He lashed out blindly with the Force. The rancor fell back into its companion, dropping Kylo once again. He smashed into a tree, the Force barely softening the blow as he slid into mud.

His hip and leg screamed for him to stop, but he pulled himself into a kneeling position, his hands raised to defend himself with the Force. He would kill himself if he died without watching his daughter grow up.

The first rancor was getting up, and Kylo shoved his hands forward, throwing the beast backwards with the Force. The swamp water crashed over him, nearly washing him into it. He wiped his hair from his face and heard the engines just before a green bolt hit the rancor.

The _Falcon_ swooped in under the tree tops, the ventral turret maneuvering to aim at the second. Two bolts hit the beast before the first rancor, dazed from the shot, threw its long arms out blindly. Its claw crashed into the _Falcon's_ cockpit, and the ship veered, smashing against the rancor's hideous face. The turret shifted, barraging the second rancor with an onslaught of fire.

Kylo's injured leg gave out as he felt the rancors' deaths in the Force. He caught himself against the mud, his gloved hand slipping into the water as his eyes closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, it is titled Calamity. Comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	12. Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very brief mention of gore in this chapter, as a warning.

Kylo's head spun. Or perhaps it was his body. He registered a splash, and someone swore. Something clung to his skin, and he sucked in a gasp that hurt his chest.

His body shifted without his conscious thought, and pain erupted from his hip. He jerked, and the pain worsened.

"… struggle… be okay…"

Was that Jessika's voice? Rey's? Stars, where was he? His eyes flickered open for a moment before they independently decided they were too heavy.

His foot hit something, and he unsuccessfully braced himself for the accompanying pain. A word was repeated several times, but his brain did not seem to know it.

He felt something soft under his back, and he tried opening his eyes again. Bright light barraged his retinas, but before he could close his eyes, a shadow shaped like a head blocked the light.

"… hurt… sorry… down…"

He tried to take a breath to speak, to ask what those words meant, but his chest burned. His eyes drifted closed again, and he had a sudden image of a fight in the snow and a burning pain in his side and face.

But no, that was years ago, and now his hip killed. He pulled on the Force to help contain the pain, but it did not seem to want to obey.

Something crashed, followed by a yell.

"… okay… just rest…"

Rest.

He felt himself drifting until the memory hit him. Adrenaline surged.

"Rancors!"

"Yes." A hand pressed on his shoulder. "… dead."

His eyes flickered again, and the bright light seared his retinas once more. His heart thumped in his chest, and once the words registered in his mind, the panic subsided.

" – aster Ren, rest." The voice sounded closer to him, and he tried nodding before he let unconsciousness take him.

* * *

Kylo's mouth felt dry. Pain throbbed from his hip, as if someone had shot him multiple times. His hand closed around a cloth over his shoulder, and he dragged his eyes open. He lay across the curved bench within the _Millennium Falcon's_ main hold. An emergency fire blanket draped over his torso and legs, covering the source of the sharp pain in his hip. His clothes felt damp with sweat, and he pushed the blanket back.

The top layer of his black clothes had been removed, but dried mud still caked most of the rest. The left side of his trousers were tattered. Bacta patches that had once been white covered his left hip and thigh, and one was peeling back to reveal a distasteful coloration.

Kylo's head fell back onto the makeshift pillow under him, his hard breathing causing a pain in the right side of his chest. He tried pulling the Force around his wounds to dull the pain, but his mind did not want to concentrate long enough.

Jessika appeared from somewhere behind him, her eyes widening in surprise as they fell on him. "Master Ren! Did the fever break?"

"Fever?" His voice cracked and sounded oddly muted to his ears. Kylo brought a heavy hand up to his forehead. His hair clung to his skin, and his fingers brought away dirt.

Jessika grimaced, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead as well. "You're still warm. I had to save the clean water for your wounds, but the purifier is working on more."

She moved away and came back with a canteen. A small level of water sloshed at the bottom, but Kylo took it, drinking it in two gulps. The cool water eased the burn in his throat. "Jessika. Why aren't we on Coruscant?"

"The cockpit is… a mess. The transparisteel's broken, which means I couldn't get us out of the atmosphere, and the comm systems are down. Kaydel hasn't woken yet, and I," her face turned pink as she looked away, "I'm not sure how to fix it."

Kylo turned his wrist, only to find his personal comm gone. Jessika sighed, and Kylo could feel her frustration and guilt only when he forced himself to concentrate. "Yours got waterlogged. Kaydel's broke, and mine doesn't have a charge."

Kylo's throat begged for more water, but he swallowed past the sensation. "Kaydel. Is she all right?"

"A little better than you. I'm surprised you're awake first." Jessika turned and picked up a bottle. A water purifier rested on the top, and clean water slowly dripped out. She sighed and set it back down. "The swamp water's already clogged the purifier twice."

She set the bottle on the holochess table, which had been pushed away from the bench Kylo laid on, where three comms sat with a hydrospanner and a sonicdriver. Kylo began sitting up again. "I can fix the ship's comms."

She scowled and pushed him back down. "No disrespect, but you can't walk right now, and your Force abilities have been going haywire. You and Kaydel need serious attention. You spiked a fever for almost eighteen hours; you, well, look awful."

Kylo looked up at Jessika in alarm, blinking away black spots that appeared in his vision as he sat up. His hip screamed in protest, and he sucked in a sharp breath. Something nearby snapped, causing Jessika to flinch. "I was out for eighteen hours?"

Jessika glared at him, but the expression was laced with worry. "Apparently, clean water can't get all the bacteria out that lived in a rancor's mouth and a swamp." She took a deep breath. "You, uh, pulled out a tooth."

Kylo immediately ran his tongue through his mouth. Jessika shook her head, and Kylo almost expected a laugh had her voice not sounded so strained. "A _rancor_ tooth. I would've pulled it out, but I don't have a coagulant to stop the bleeding."

Kylo leaned his head back against the bench, pressing his hand against his hip through the blanket. Pain raced through him again, and it took several seconds until he could speak again. "Kriff."

"My sentiment exactly." Jessika took a deep breath, and she looked over Kylo's shoulder.

Kylo followed her gaze to where Kaydel lay in one of the inset bunks. A blanket covered her, too, and her skin was white. Kylo could barely feel her through the Force. "She's not doing well, is she?"

Jessika's lips pressed together, and she shook her head. After a moment, she looked at him sharply. "Can you contact Rey through your bond?"

Kylo closed his eyes briefly. Rey was there, in the back of his mind as always, but she felt faint, planets away. His mind did not want to focus to try to strengthen it. "We have trouble at distances."

Jessika's face fell, although she tried to hide it as she looked back to the comms. "I'm trying to replace my power pack with Kaydel's, but I don't think its functional either."

Kylo's brain seemed to be fogging, and he wished he had some caf, or anything to wash the fuzzy feeling in his mouth. "Can we get to a city and send a signal there?"

Jessika shook her head. "Nav system's down, and I didn't want to fly or leave the ship with both of you out, especially since I don't know where to go."

Kylo tugged on the fire blanket, which took far too much energy than it should have. He licked his dry lips, a terrible idea forming in his fevered mind. "Take out the tooth."

"I can't stop the bleeding." Jessika's tone was gentle, as if speaking to a child. "We need a med droid."

"I know, I know." Kylo tried to swallow and spoke before he could talk himself out of it. "But Rey will feel it." If she had not felt the injuries from the rancor encounter, she would feel the loss of blood and know to send help.

Jessika stared at him, her expression shifting rapidly as she tried to decide if the idea was one of delusion or something that could actually be done. Eventually, she shook her head. "I'm not risking your life. You could bleed out before help comes."

The pain in his hip seemed to worsen, and Kylo shut his eyes against it. "I'd prefer not to die of an infection."

Jessika crossed her arms. "Now that you're awake, I can go find civilization to send a signal."

Kylo shivered despite the humidity in the room, and the pain returned with renewed fire. "Jess, if Kaydel is anything like me, she doesn't have much time before the infection spreads, and she's a lot smaller than me." He met the young Jedi's eyes, struggling to keep focused so that he could speak coherently. "I trust you."

Jessika hesitated before her shoulders sagged. "All right." A medpac jumped into her hand, and she opened it, revealing how little supplies were left. "There's two patches left, and a pain tab."

She held out the tab, but Kylo shook his head. "That'll dull the bond."

Jessika nodded slowly and placed the tab on the holochess table. She then pushed up the emergency blanket. "It's too far up for a tourniquet."

Kylo nodded, pressing his lips together for a moment. His heart thumped loudly in his chest. "Help me onto the floor; you don't want to deal with more injuries when I fall."

She wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders, and Kylo felt the Force wrap around his legs as she eased him off the bench.

She knelt beside him, gently peeling away one of the bacta patches. Kylo ignored the resulting smell. Her face looked as white as the fresh one ready to be used. Kylo adverted his eyes and gripped the blanket tightly. "I'll be all right, Jess."

She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath. Her back straightened, and she looked over the injury with a determined look as her hand hovered over it.

Her fingers jerked, and white-hot pain erupted from Kylo's hip.

He was distantly aware of a scream. His throat was raw. His vision went red before it blacked.

* * *

_Little feet kicked at Kylo's chest. He held onto to Arian's legs, making sure the youngling was secure around his shoulders._

" _Higher!" A small hand waved past Kylo's vision as Arian giggled._

_Rey laughed and smiled up at Kylo, kissing him briefly. An infant with dark hair curled in her arms, fast asleep. His wife glowed with pride. "I don't think you can get much higher, Arian, unless you get taller than Kylo."_

_The little body on his shoulders bounced excitedly. "I will!"_

_Kylo laughed and rubbed his thumb over Arian's leg. "You hit your head a lot when you're tall, you know."_

" _But you can see the tops of people's heads," Arian said seriously._

" _Oh, yeah, did you forget that's the main advantage of your height, Kylo?" Rey's face lit up with another brilliant smile._

" _I forgot how pretty the top of your head is." Kylo kissed Rey's hair._

_Arian made a noise of disgust, his feet kicking Kylo's chest again. Kylo chuckled. "Let's go outside, kid."_

_The door slid open, and Kylo ducked to make sure the youngling did not get hit by the doorframe. His boots rustled through the grass, and the sun shone against a nearby lake. Four black birds flew overhead, casting shadows over the ground._

_Something did not feel right._

" _Can Nana fly?" A Tooka doll waved in Kylo's face, snapping him out of his thoughts._

" _She'll need to fly with you." He broke into a run. Arian waved the doll through the air, laughing against Kylo's hair. After a minute, Kylo stopped. "Where are the ships?" He turned back to Finn and Poe's familiar home, which used to be surrounded by a mass of other Coruscant residential buildings. Rey's form stood by the windows, watching them. "This is supposed to be Poe's landing pad."_

" _There they are!" Arian's small hand pointed up._

_Kylo followed Arian's finger, hearing the roar of engines. Poe's ships were all in flight, and as one, they opened fire on the house._

* * *

Kylo woke with a jolt, his entire body screaming in protest. He blinked rapidly against the bright lights and turned his head to the side, unsurprised to find a support machine hooked up to him with several tubes feeding into a needle in his right elbow. One held dark red liquid, replacing the blood he had lost.

Jessika lay on a bench against the wall, her head in Sonzy's lap as she slept. The Togruta ran a hand slowly through her damp hair, his eyes fixed on a muted holoscreen. When Kylo shifted against the pillow, Sonzy turned, his face brightening. "You're up!"

Kylo's throat was still dry, and his voice cracked as he asked, "Rey?"

"Went to find a refresher." Sonzy winced as though something had poked him. "She'll be upset she missed you wake up."

Kylo gave a soft laugh that made his chest throb. "She will be. How soon did she send help?"

Sonzy raised a brow, the white markings on his face wrinkling. "' _Send_ help?' She nearly stole one of Poe's old shuttles before Finn noticed. We had to convince her to slow down and take a med droid with us."

Kylo inhaled sharply. The spot in his chest throbbed harder. "She went with you? Is she all right?"

Sonzy waved a hand in the air dismissively. "She's fine. And we would've taken a lot longer to find you if she hadn't been there."

Kylo closed his eyes for a moment, reminding himself that Rey was not fragile. She could take care of herself and their child. Considering his current injury rate, he seemed to be more delicate than his wife. "What about Kaydel?"

Sonzy sighed softly. "Hanging in there. Teela and Poe are with her. Finn's at home with Arian."

The chronometer across from Kylo's bed read four in the morning. "You two should be home sleeping."

"Jess wouldn't leave until they were sure you were all right." Sonzy looked down at Jessika as if unsure whether he should wake her or let her sleep. "I should track down a med droid to do another scan."

"Kylo." Rey's voice sighed in relief from the doorway, and her arms were around his shoulders within seconds.

Kylo brought his arm up, ignoring the pull of the needle in his elbow, to return the half hug. "Rey."

She held onto him for longer than necessary, her forehead resting on his shoulder. "I didn't think I needed to tell you not to get into a rancor fight."

Kylo pressed a kiss to her hair. "I didn't exactly foresee it, and I don't particularly want a repeat experience."

Her arm bumped his chest as she pulled back, and Kylo winced at the sharp pain. "Sorry. You've got a broken rib."

Kylo frowned and shifted his position, earning a sharp pain from his leg and hip. "No bacta tank?"

"The droids don't want to close the wounds until the infection is cleared." She paused and gave a small smile that was half relief and half apology. "You're on bedrest with me."


	13. Insomnia

"There are eighteen panels in the ceiling, and twenty-four indents in each panel," Kylo said in an exhausted, monotone voice.

Rey snorted softly. "Except the one in the corner." She pointed, the city lights filtering through the bedroom window illuminating her hand a soft yellow. "It has twenty-three indents."

They stared at the ceiling together for a several minutes until Kylo grumbled, "I would rather not know this information."

Rey turned her head to the side. Kylo's profile was barely visible through the dark room. "I've known this information for three weeks. I'm glad you're in on the big secret."

He laughed, and she felt a phantom pain in her chest. He had refused more pain suppressants in favor of keeping his connection to the Force. "The number of ceiling panels. Such a cornerstone to our marriage."

"You know, if we didn't know this, we might go insane." Rey finally rolled back onto her side, her back aching.

Kylo's head turned to face her, and he sighed, his voice soft. "Why am I jealous that you're able to lay on your side?"

"Marvel in it through the bond." Rey curled further under her heated blanket. "You'll get in a bacta tank soon enough, and then you'll be making me jealous by laying on your stomach and running around again."

Kylo groaned and stared back at the ceiling. His hand carded through his messed hair, and he flopped his arm on the bed between them. "It would be easier to be stuck here if I could sleep the time away."

Rey waved a hand dismissively but only ended up making the blanket flop. "Sleep is overrated. I'm finally caught up on galactic news, four novels, _and_ thelatestCoruscant shows."

"It's almost like a normal life." Kylo's voice dripped in sarcasm, but she could hear the exhaustion. "At least we'll be used to sleep depravation when Leia comes."

Rey groaned and put a hand over her face. "I didn't even think about that."

Kylo exhaled slowly, and he moved to rest his forearm over his forehead. Rey's stomach twisted, although she could not tell if it was her own. After several minutes, Kylo murmured, "We're not ready yet, are we?"

Rey studied Kylo's face through the darkness. The twist in her stomach refused to go away. "We've been too busy to realize we're not ready."

"We're not busy now." The corner of Kylo's mouth, barely visible by the city lights, slowly pulled into a smile as his low laugh grew louder.

Rey felt a smile grow on her face despite herself. Kylo's laugh was a stark change from his usual mood, not to mention the irritation from being forced to rest. "What? Has the sleep depravation already gotten to you? Because Leia's going to keep us up more than one night. You'll need to be prepared."

Kylo laughed harder, pressing a hand to his right side as she felt the pain of his broken rib again. "I think the Force has a sense of humor."

"The… Force..." A laugh bubbled up in her throat, and neither of them could talk for over a minute. "The Force is forcing us to stop."

Kylo nodded and took several breaths to calm his laughter. "It had to get us both stuck in bed together for us to realize we need to prepare better."

Rey grinned, wiping some tears that had built in her eyes from laughing. "The Force would be a lot nicer if it would also let us sleep."

Kylo huffed a short laugh. "Apparently, it wants us to prepare this instant."

Rey grinned at him and leaned to the side, her datapad jumping into her hand. "Name a holofilm."

Kylo gave her surprised a look. "At two in the morning?"

"Name a holofilm, or I'm picking _Galactic Bandits_ again."

Kylo pulled in a slow breath through his nose. "Fine. _Quest for Quasar._ "

Rey tapped onto the HoloNet and pulled up the holofilm he had named. "Stars, this one is old." She pushed the datapad in the middle of the bed, letting the holofilm project above the screen.

"Luke likes it for some reason. We watched it a lot when I lived with my mother." Kylo sat up slowly, his injured leg dragging uselessly under the covers.

Rey pushed a pillow behind his back and turned on a dim light before standing. Kylo's confusion radiated through the bond. "Where're you going?"

Rey gave him a small smile and walked to the door, rubbing her lower back. "I need to move, so I'm getting us something to drink." She knew he wanted to be the one walking, and she waved a hand at him dismissively. "Start the holo; this'll only take a minute."

She padded into the hallway and made her way to the kitchen. The sitting room was dark as she passed it, but she could see the lumps of an unused blanket on one couch. On another, Sonzy's montrals were silhouetted by lights of passing speeders outside the windows.

" - _didn't_ die, Jess. You saved him."

Rey crept closer to the kitchen, not wanting to disrupt the conversation, but something in her was glad Jessika was talking. She had been unusually quiet during the race back to Coruscant with Kylo and Kaydel, and Rey was sure she had feigned sleep several times when she intended to thank her for saving her husband.

"You weren't there." Jessika's voice shook, and Rey felt waves of anxiety hit her through the Force. "He – There was so much blood. And – and I didn't know how badly he was hurt out there."

Rey flinched. She remembered racing onto the _Millennium Falcon_ behind Finn and Sonzy with an odd, spinning feeling in her mind, as if her partner was slipping away. Kylo with deathly white skin and Jessika kneeling over him with blood on her clothes had haunted her memory.

Jessika's breath shuddered. "I should've found him faster. If I hadn't used most of the emergency supplies on Kaydel while he was unconscious in the mud…"

"Then Kaydel might've died. And Master Ren might not've had the idea to pull the tooth to alert Rey." Sonzy paused for a moment and then whispered, "They're all right, even though Ren is upset about resting."

Jessika was quiet, and Sonzy gave a long sigh. "Don't beat yourself up. You did everything you could. And then some. I'll spar with you tomorrow – or today, I suppose – and beat you for you."

"Not a chance." Jessika chuckled tentatively. "I've been watching holos of… of Kylo and Rey's old sparring matches. You know, back during the war, and then after the trial."

"Yeah? Pick up some good moves?"

"I think so." Jessika's laugh was stronger this time. "It'll be nice when he has time to spar with us again."

"He might like to watch us, at least. He's only been home one day, and the irritation is palpable." They both laughed softly. "C'mon. Let's get some chav, and then we can rest so you can try those moves on me."

Rey jumped and quickly entered the kitchen, pulling two mugs from a cabinet with the Force while she started the water heater. She was pulling some chav mix from a drawer when the two young Jedi entered.

Sonzy gave her a tired smile and sat at the table with Jessika. "Grab us two more?"

Rey took four packets out and set them on the table. Jessika's face looked splotchy, as if she had been crying. Sonzy leaned forward, effectively shielding Jessika, as he asked, "You and Master Ren can't sleep either?"

"You know him." Rey pulled out two more mugs. "There's no outlet for his energy right now, even with that infection."

Sonzy nodded, dragging his empty mug between his hands. "We're hoping Poe's estimate is right, and we can get in our new rooms next week."

Rey had forgotten in the chaos of Kylo's injury that they still slept on the couches. "Did Kaydel at least take the guest room?"

Sonzy nodded, spinning his mug with the Force. "Yeah, but she felt bad about kicking Teela out, so I think they're sharing the bed."

Jessika gave a soft snort. "Except Kaydel takes up the entire bed, no matter the size." At Sonzy's disbelieving look, she added, "We were roommates as Padawans before the fire, remember?"

The water heater beeped, and Rey poured the steaming liquid into each mug after stopping Sonzy's spinning mug with a twitch of her finger. She dumped the chav mix into two, watching the other Jedi do the same.

"Poe was thinking of tweaking the construction droids to speed up the process," Rey said as she mixed the liquid with a slow spin of her finger over the mugs, "but I think the time to change their programming would negate the speed up time."

Jessika rolled her eyes. "Plus, construction companies usually fine you if they find you've messed with their droids."

"Poe could probably reprogram without them detection, though." Sonzy rubbed his spine just under his back lekku. "I, for one, am ready for a permanent bed."

Rey grinned and picked up her two mugs. "Speaking of bed, I should get back to Kylo. Don't stay up too long."

"We won't."

Rey left the kitchen and let the mugs float beside her so that the hot liquid would not slosh onto the floor as she walked. She reached hers and Kylo's door and glanced back down the hall. The two Jedi sat at the kitchen table with their heads close, Sonzy's arm around Jessika's shoulders.

Smiling to herself, Rey slid the door open with the Force. Kylo's eyes flicked up from the holo. "That was longer than a minute."

Rey sank back into the bed, letting one of the mugs float to Kylo's hands. "Jess and Sonzy are up."

Kylo raised an eyebrow, cupping the mug in his hands. "Drinking bantha milk again?"

Rey took a drink of the chav and licked her lips, shaking her head. "Chav, like us." She sighed softly and blew on hot liquid. "I… think Jess was shaken up by you almost bleeding to death."

Kylo flinched and closed his eyes for a moment. "I didn't see another option. Kaydel wasn't doing well, and the _Falcon_ was wrecked, and - "

"I know, Kylo. I know." Rey kept her voice gentle. The only sleep he had gotten since leaving the medcenter had been interrupted by a nightmare with rancors. She settled close to him, making sure her knees did not bump his injured hip. "You should talk with Jess sometime soon. Make sure she knows she did everything she could."

"Jess knows that." Kylo drank from his mug and then set it on the nightstand. "In fact, I shouldn't be as surprised as I am that she knew as much as she did about helping Kaydel and me."

Rey laughed softly. "She's attached to that datapad. And yes, she knows deep down, but," she took a deep breath, running her hand slowly over Kylo's bicep, "you know how your mind can warp experiences."

Kylo nodded, pressing his lips together. "I know. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

His arm slid around her shoulders, and she rested her head on his chest. The holofilm continued to play, casting a blue light onto them both. "What'd I miss?"

"The short one with the… hair," Kylo made a motion as if his hair was as long and messy as the man's on the holo, "is Lord Baltharog. He's looking for the Quasar stone, the key to all power."

Rey grinned. "I'm not sure you're the best judgement of short."

Kylo scoffed, reaching for his mug and taking another sip. "When everyone else in the holo is taller, then the makers obviously wanted to show that he's short."

"I know. I'm just teasing." Rey set her mug among the blankets, using the Force to keep it upright. The man onscreen made a poor attempt to pilot a ship, and it veered into a canyon.

Kylo's thumb rubbed her side slowly. "D'you think she'll be tall?"

"She'll probably be taller than me." Rey rubbed her swollen stomach gently. "I'm not sure it'd be fair if she got taller than you."

Kylo's side vibrated with a laugh, and his lips pressed against her temple before he rested his head against hers. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"And you won't be fighting rancors again so you get to see how tall she'll get." She felt his smile, and she turned her attention back to the holofilm.

A Hutt had appeared onscreen, and it threatened the short man, who only laughed at him. The Hutt motioned to its attendants, and a fight broke out. The short man dispatched several Trandoshans, and a droid went spinning in two directions. The Hutt surprisingly lashed out, grabbing the short man in its small arms.

"Wait, who is the Hutt?" Rey frowned and shifted to look up at Kylo, but her next question died on her lips as she saw her husband fast asleep.


	14. Soothe

Rey slipped on a sleeveless shirt and tugged at the material as it stretched around her stomach. She frowned, looking up at her reflection in the refresher mirror. She brushed damp hair from her face, staring at the circles under her eyes. Sleep had not come easily before, but now with Kylo's restlessness, what sleep she did get had not seemed to help.

She shut the refresher lights off and padded back into the bedroom, picking up the black jacket sitting at the end of the bed. Kylo sat up against the headboard, holding a datapad against a pillow on his good leg. He looked up at her and sighed softly. "How much sleep did you get?"

Rey shrugged on the jacket and took a seat next to him on the edge of the bed. "Not as much as you."

Kylo raised an eyebrow and set his datapad on the bed next to him. "So not much."

"Not much," Rey agreed with a sigh. Her arms felt heavy as she began tying her hair back. She looked over at Kylo's datapad. "What're you reading?"

Kylo rolled his eyes, and she felt a flash of annoyance through the Force. For a brief moment, she thought he did not like her asking, but he showed her a list of news articles. " _Flash Zizz_ has been busy again."

Rey took the datapad, reading through the article titles.

_Not So Indestructible: Kylo Ren Seen Injured at Coruscant Central Medcenter_

_The Weapon of the Jedi: How the Crystals Power Lightsabers_

_Jedi Order Falling Apart? Younglings Given Extended Holiday_

_Ren and Solo Will Be Having Baby Girl. Close Sources Weigh in on How They Plan to Raise Her_

_Are the Jedi Necessary?_

_How Much do the Jedi Earn? A Look at the Net Worth of Kylo Ren_

Rey's eyes narrowed the further she got down the list. "He's been busy since your injury."

"According to this one, I'm the only Jedi." Kylo pointed to the most recent article.

Rey opened the article entitled _How Much do the Jedi Earn? A Look at the Net Worth of Kylo Ren_ and scanned the first paragraph. "Ah, yes, obviously you're the only Jedi worth poking his beady little eyes into, so why mention anyone else?"

Kylo sighed, and Rey sensed his unease. "But his information is accurate."

She scrolled down further and looked up at Kylo sharply. "He found out about the inheritance from your mother?"

He pressed his lips together and nodded. "You're the only person I ever told about that. I don't know how he found out."

Rey returned to the article, rubbing her hand slowly over Kylo's leg through the blankets. "Of course, he fails to mention we put most of our income back to the school."

"Apparently, having credits to eat and help Poe and Finn house us is also too many words for an invasive article." Kylo's voice was hard, and Rey found herself glad he could not walk on his own yet. Or at least a certain Gungan reporter should be glad.

Rey sighed and closed out of the article. "It's just tabloid nonsense. It's not like we go out in public enough for people to care."

"The Senate cared about the article on my lightsaber." He gave her a dry look. "And apparently the public cares about your pregnancy with my spawn."

Rey smacked Kylo's knee. "Don't you dare call Leia that."

Kylo raked a hand through his hair, his anxiety radiating through the Force. "Stars, she's never going to have a private life, is she?"

Rey leaned forward and kissed Kylo softly. "No. But we'll figure it out." At his small smile, she kissed him again. "I love you."

"Love you, too," Kylo breathed against her lips.

She reluctantly pulled away and stood, sighing at his confused expression. "Finn's taking me to my appointment."

Kylo took a sharp breath, his hand jumping through his hair again. "I forgot that was today."

He made a move to stand, but Rey pushed him back down with a roll of her eyes. "If you refuse a hoverchair, then you can't come." She softened her expression. She would refuse a hoverchair, too. "Maybe try to talk with Jessika, if you can, while we're gone."

Kylo wrapped an arm around Poe's shoulders, and the pilot pulled him to his feet with a small grunt. Kylo hissed as the pain radiated from his weight.

Poe frowned, pressing his hand to Kylo's back more in a gesture of support than actual help. "Take it easy. We can get something to block the pain. Help you move around a bit easier."

Kylo shook his head and let himself lean on Poe with each step on his bad leg. He pulled on the Force, condensing it around the wound. Pain still pulsed, but it dulled slightly. The anti-infection medications were already making his head spin and interfering with his connection to the Force. He did not need pain suppressants to make it worse. "It's only a few days until the infection clears, and I can get into a bacta tank. I can handle it."

"Can Rey?" Poe asked the question softly, and he slowly turned his head to meet Kylo's gaze.

Kylo swallowed and gave a small nod, despite the guilty twist in his stomach. "She's all right."

The pilot helped him limp into the sitting room and helped him down onto a couch. Jessika sat across from him, a datapad on her lap. She watched them in uncharacteristic quiet.

Poe checked the chronometer. "Finn and Rey should be back in a bit. They're picking up some takeout from that Ryloth joint a few blocks over."

Kylo groaned. Rey loved Twi'lek food, which was probably how she had convinced Finn to stop on their way back. "I'll… pass on that."

Poe rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, looking very much like Rey in his expression. "One – just because a particular Rylothian Twi'lek tried to sleep with you and have you possessed, doesn't mean the food from her planet isn't delicious. Two – Rey might hurt you if you don't eat, and I don't wanna take you back to the Medcenter, so suck it up and eat food for energy."

A loud crash from the floor above cut off Kylo's response, and Poe swore under his breath. "Construction droids have been malfunctioning all day."

"Maybe you shouldn't've reprogrammed them," Kylo said as the pilot made his way out of the room.

"I don't _have_ to help you walk, Ren," Poe shot back, his laugh sounding down the hall. Poe's footsteps muted as he climbed a set of stairs to the new level of the house.

Kylo looked over at Jessika, who sat with her knees against her chest, watching him anxiously. He let out a slow breath, chewing on the inside of his mouth for a moment. "We should talk, Jess."

She blinked as if he had interrupted a trance, and Kylo felt her apprehension. "About what?"

"About Rakata Prime." Kylo gestured for her to sit next to him, and when she hesitated, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'd sit by you, but I need Rey's help to even walk to the refresher."

Jessika stood slowly and took a seat next to Kylo, her muscles tense. She stared at a spot in the carpet, her forearms leaning against her knees. "Why do we need to talk about that planet?"

Kylo leaned forward as much as the painful pull in his hip would allow. "I'm sorry for putting you in that situation."

Jessika looked at him in surprise. "You're… sorry? You didn't do anything. It's not like you asked those rancors to try to take your leg off." She swallowed and looked away. "I took too long to find you. It's my fault you're stuck here."

Kylo took a slow breath and kept his voice as gentle as possible. "Jess. You did _everything_ you could." He tapped his leg, feeling the pain radiate down to his knee. "I might've lost the leg had you not known what to do."

"You wouldn't've needed to worry about that if I'd gone after you right away."

Kylo gave her a dry look. "I was in a rancor's mouth." He shuddered at the memory but continued, "I would've gotten this infection no matter how long I was out there. And Kaydel likely wouldn't be with us if you had abandoned her to find me. But you know that."

When Jessika did not respond, he put a hand on her shoulder. "You can't beat yourself up about this, not when you have so many talents to help the galaxy."

"Except for kriffing engineering." Her voice was so low, he barely caught it.

Kylo raised an eyebrow and pulled her discarded datapad into his hand with the Force. Specifications of comms came up on the screen, detailing the pieces of wrist comms and their differences to those built into ships. He sighed and set the datapad on the floor. "You realize that the _Millennium_ _Falcon_ has been modified so often that the comm system doesn't even resemble anything standard anymore?"

She laughed bitterly and nodded. "That's why I turned to the wrist comms, but I couldn't fix those either."

"Mine was caked in mud, and Kaydel's broke. There was nothing _to_ fix _."_ She knew that information; she had been the one to tell him on the _Falcon_. But Kylo hoped hearing it from him would help her come to terms that there had not been any more she could have done.

"If I had been able to fix something and contact help, your life wouldn't have been in danger!" Jessika's voice raised so sharply that Kylo flinched. "I couldn't be the one to tell Rey I killed the love of her life!"

Kylo swallowed past a lump in his throat. That was the root of his nightmares. His darkest fear: losing Rey. Losing any member of his strange little family or leaving Rey to raise their daughter on her own. Jessika seemed to harbor similar fears.

"You're having a daughter soon. And… And you're basically another father to us." Her voice became quiet, and she looked down at her hands. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I couldn't watch you die."

A part of Kylo knew she was remembering his blood on her hands. He put a hand over hers, hoping the heat from his body and the color in his skin would help her. "It's all right to be afraid for people you care about, but don't let that fear rule your mind. You know you can talk to me, or Rey, or any of us. We'll help you." She nodded, her eyes still on his hand over hers. "Jess. I'm proud of the Jedi - of the _person_ \- you've become."

She met his eyes, and a slight smile pulled at her lips. "Thank you, Master."

The door leading out to the landing pad slid open, and Rey entered, followed closely by Finn, who held Arian in the crook of one arm and a bag in the other.

Rey set another, smaller bag on the table and gave Kylo a tired smile as she rubbed her back. "We got you some of that Chandrilan soup you like." At his surprised look, she grinned and kissed him lightly. "I knew I wouldn't hear the end of it if we got you the Ryloth stuff."

"Dada!" Arian's high-pitched voice sounded from across the room where Finn had set him down. The Tooka doll waved in his hand as he ran over on short legs.

Before Kylo could stop him, Arian clambered onto the couch next to him and crawled onto his lap. A small foot dig into Kylo's wounded hip, and he could not stifle the yell of pain.

"Whoa, little guy!" Finn picked Arian up, causing the youngling to drop the Tooka doll. "No climbing on Ren."

Rey pulled the Tooka doll into her hand with the Force and held it out to Arian. Kylo pressed a hand against his thigh in an attempt to divert the pain. Black spots danced in his vision. His heart thumped faster than usual, and he took several breaths through the pain. The Force did not seem to want to cooperate as he tried pulling it around the screaming wound. "All right." He sucked in a sharp breath. "I might take some pain suppressants."

Finn tweaked Arian's nose. "Little troublemaker. At least you get him to see sense."

Arian squirmed in Finn's grip, reaching a hand out to Kylo. He could sense the youngling's confusion. "Dada? Ow?"

"I'll be okay." Kylo breathed the words through gritted teeth, and he knew Arian did not believe him.

Finn started toward the kitchen with the youngling in his arms. "Let's get your dad something to help."

"Nothing too strong, Finn." Anything more than a basic pain suppressant would mess with his head, and he wanted to be alert.

Arian began crying as Finn left the sitting room with him. "He'll be all right! We'll get some candy, too, how does that sound?"

Finn's shushes faded down the hall. Kylo let out a controlled breath, his pulse throbbing through him. He hoped Rey could not feel much of the pain, but she sat next to him, rubbing her own hip absently. After a few more moments, his heartrate began slowing.

Rey held his hand and ran her other one over his shoulder. "Sorry. I forget he's running around now."

"Especially since neither of us can." Kylo gave a short laugh and then winced, squeezing Rey's hand as the pain rose back up. "How was the appointment?"

"Fine, fine." Rey scowled slightly. "She wants me to rest for at least another week, since she doesn't know how your wound affects our bond and therefore Leia." She swatted his shoulder lightly. "Thanks for that."

"Yeah, thanks for giving us two bedridden Force users, Ren," Finn grumbled as he came back into the room. Arian clutched little pieces of soft candy, happily chewing on them from Finn's arms. The former Stormtrooper handed Kylo a glass of water and small bowl with a few pills. "Pain suppressants and the anti-infection meds."

Kylo thanked him and took the pills one by one, keeping an eye on Arian as Finn sat him on the floor where some of his toys had been left. He started opening the bags of food, separating dishes onto plates he had brought from the kitchen.

Poe wandered back into the room, BB-8 at his heels and a clunky, deactivated construction droid in his arms. The logo of the construction company was printed above the droid's visual sensor. "Hey, Rey, d'you know how to reprogram this model?" His eyes found the food on the table, and he plopped the droid onto the floor. "Oh, finally!"

Kylo stared at the dark ceiling, counting the number of panels for the fourth time that night. His head spun from the medications, and closing his eyes only seemed to make it worse. He wondered briefly if he could use the Force to destroy the infection, but after what seemed like an hour of concentrating, he could not get the Force to so much as shift the blankets.

Rey breathed evenly next to him, already sound asleep. Her feet poked out from her heated blanket, which had started sliding off her shoulder. Kylo pulled the blanket back up slowly.

He looked back up at the ceiling, watching the light from a passing speeder outside pass through the windows. After another few minutes, he sighed and grabbed his datapad, intending to find a holofilm to watch without sound. The news articles came up on the screen as he turned it on. Flash Zizz had written another article with an accompanying image of Rey and Finn walking out of the Ryloth restaurant. The title of _Solo with Another Man?_ made Kylo glad the reporter had not been active when the Twi'lek Kilnetel had been flirting with him.

He closed out of the news and tapped for his collection of holoflims but bumped the button for holobooks instead. Rey's list of fairy tale myths came up under his own saved books. He glanced at his sleeping wife again and then pulled up one he knew she had read multiple times.

He slid down the bed until a few inches of his legs hung off the end. It felt foolish, but the slight stretch in his muscles actually helped relieve some of the dull throbbing in his hip. His hand ghosted over the swell of Rey's stomach, but he did not want to wake her. He wished he could concentrate better on the Force to feel out for the little life within her, but he would have to settle for reading to Leia until he healed.

Taking a deep breath, he began reading aloud.

" _A long time ago,_ _in a planet far, far away, there lived a very rich merchant, who had six children; being a man of sense, he spared no cost for their education, but gave them all kinds of masters. His daughters were extremely handsome, especially the youngest. When she was little everybody admired her and called her 'the little Beauty' so that, as she grew up, she still went by the name of Beauty, which made her sisters very jealous."_

Rey shifted, and she pulled in a slow breath as her eyes flickered open. "Kylo? What're you doing?"

He looked up at her, wondering if she would be angry for waking her. "I'm… reading. To Leia."

A smile slowly grew on her face, and she closed her eyes again as she curled closer to him. "A fairy tale. Which one?"

"Your favorite."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending scene partially based off a little headcanon Tripping55 gave me a few months ago. The story is modified from the Beauty and Beast version by LePrince de Beaumont. Thanks for reading, lovely people.


	15. Trepidation

Rey ran her hair through Kylo's hair slowly from where his head rested in her lap, watching the few strands of silver slide through the dark ones. "So, we'll be taking shifts?"

"Mmhm." Kylo had gotten the first of two bacta tank treatments earlier that day and had been dozing off since, claiming it was too early to go to bed. He pulled in a slow breath and blinked several times before seeming to lose the battle and kept his eyes closed. "You get up earlier, so I'll take the first shift."

Rey played with a few strands near Kylo's ear, beginning a small braid. "I knew I married you for a reason."

Kylo grinned and opened an eye to look at her with an eyebrow raised. "I thought that was because of my good looks."

Rey snorted and finished the small braid, watching it slowly fall out again. "Nope. I only married you for our contrasting sleeping schedules."

Kylo's face lit up with a laugh, and he closed his eyes again as her hand started through his hair again. "Liar."

"Hey, lovebirds." Poe stride into the sitting room and plopped onto the couch across from them. He flashed them a wry smile. "I have a proposal. Or rather, Jess mentioned something off-hand that was actually brilliant and gave me the idea."

Kylo opened an eye to look at Poe. "And?"

Poe glanced at Kylo, pressing his lips together for a moment. "You're… really not going to like it."

Kylo sighed slowly and moved to sit up, his exhaustion clear in his movement. "Get it out, Dameron."

"I think that you should do an interview."

Kylo glanced at Rey and then back at Poe, his voice flat. "You're joking."

"Hear me out, Ren." Poe leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "We find a reporter that, you know, has _actual_ ethics and morals – A.K.A. _not_ Flash Zizz – and answer the public's most burning questions. If we do this right, we could completely change your public image, and Zizz's tabloid articles won't be as believable."

Rey's stomach twisted. Kylo tended to be very private. If she searched for him on the HoloNet, the only verifiable information was commonly-known actions from the war plus a scant profile on his position at the Jedi Acadamy. But to her surprise, Kylo's face looked serious as he considered Poe's suggestion. "People are still going to read Zizz's articles no matter what. I imagine he has a base readership with all those articles he's been getting."

Jessika and Teela trailed in from the kitchen, each carrying a bowl of some snack food Finn liked. Teela sat next to Poe, and Jessika leaned on the armrest. "What're we talking about?"

Rey frowned and shook her head, her stomach twisting again. She pressed a hand to her stomach, feeling the little life in her kicking again, as if Leia liked the idea as much as her mother. "Poe wants Kylo to do an interview with a credible reporter."

Teela munched on the food for a moment before saying, "What about a trade with Zizz himself? He won't write up anymore rumors about us, and in exchange he gets first dibs at interviews and news from the Jedi. He suddenly gets credible, and we can control what gets out and what doesn't."

Jessika pressed her lips together. "I don't trust him not to twist things or make up stuff for a few more articles."

Poe reached into Teela's bowl and pulled out a few pieces, grinning at her light slap across his hand. "Somehow, I think the threat of 'scary Kylo Ren' might be enough."

Kylo ran a hand through his hair, but most of the strands flopped back into his face. "I'm not very frightening right now."

"You have what? Another treatment in two days, and then another day to sleep off the bacta." Poe crunched on his stolen food and swallowed. "So, in roughly four days, you'll be scary Jedi Master Kylo Ren." He waved his fingers in a spooky gesture, but the cheese covering the tips negated the effect.

"A mind trick?" Jessika held her bowl out of Poe's reach as he tried for her food. "You could set up an interview and then… _suggest_ he doesn't write trash about the Jedi."

Kylo let out a slow breath and shook his head, leaning back against the couch. "Honestly, I'd like to suggest he leave the planet and never bother anyone again. But we did swear not to use mind tricks unless in the service of the Republic." He looked like he severely regretted the oath in that instance, not that Rey blamed him. "If the Senate even gets an inkling I did that, they'd have a field day."

"I could do the interview with you. And Rey." Teela smiled at Rey and leaned forward, setting her almost empty bowl on the table. "Senator Tomsega apparently has convinced the rest of the Senate that I'm trustworthy, so having me there might help."

Rey reached over to hold Kylo's hand. "As much as I'd like public opinion of us to lighten, I just don't think an interview with a tabloid Gungan is going to help. We should let our actions speak for us, like with the relief missions we started before all of _this_ ," she waved her hand to gesture at everything, "started. Show the public that we're here to help, not just to mind trick our way into getting things."

Poe nodded slowly. "I get what you're saying, and you're right, Rey. But we need the media, or at least some of the media, on our side if relief missions are to even help. Not just our image, but getting the public aware of areas that need more than what we can do."

"Getting Zizz on our side might be the fastest way to help." Kylo carded a hand through his hair anxiously. "And keep him from prying into our lives. We could just meet with him at the school. See if he's willing to work with us."

Poe nodded once. "I'll send a message, then? See if he'll meet with us at the school in four days?"

Kylo sighed and gave a reluctant nod. "Send the message."

Jessika handed her bowl to Poe, whose excited look faded as he realized it was empty. She gave him a mischievous grin before turning back to Kylo. "Sonzy and I would like to go to Imoco." She handed Kylo a datapad after tapping on it. Rey leaned in to see an image of a shuttle docked against icy terrain on the screen. "There's reports of a Nu-class shuttle that's been in the main port for a couple of days."

Poe perked up, his eyes on the datapad as if he could see the screen from across the table. "A Nu-class? That one that caused the crash?"

"I'm almost certain it's the same one." Jessika clasped her hands together, looking determined.

Kylo flipped over to a different page, scanning the screen. "Imoco. In the Kamino system. Maybe you should wait until I can go with you."

Rey rolled her eyes and took the datapad from Kylo, flicking through the images of the planet. "Considering your current track record, they're probably better off without you, Kylo."

Kylo made a noise of protest, which was drowned out by Poe's roaring laugh. "She's got you there, Ren. You'll have been fully submerged in bacta for the third time in two months by the end of the week."

Rey gave Kylo a victorious look and cut him off with a hand raised. "Plus, the shuttle'll probably be gone by the time you'd be ready to leave the planet again."

Kylo let out a slow breath before nodding. "Fine. Fine. You'll be leaving soon, then, Jess?"

The young Jedi nodded, her face lighting up in a smile. "Yeah. Sonzy's teaching the youngling meditation class, so we'll head out this evening."

Poe tapped something on his comm. His face was expressionless, but Rey could feel a jumble of emotions from the pilot. "Take BB-8 with you. He's almost done charging."

Jessika nodded once and gave Poe a strange look, as if she could feel the jumble herself but could not decipher them. "Thanks, Dad. I've got to go pack some things."

She disappeared down the hall, and Teela collected the bowls to take back to the kitchen. Once the two young Jedi had left, Rey gave Poe a small smile. "Jess can handle herself. It's not like she decides to fight two rancors by herself."

Poe snorted, and his shoulders visibly relaxed. "Yeah. I know. She's smart." He looked to the armrest that Jessika had been leaning on, a rare look of nostalgia replacing his usual easy-going expression. "But having BB-8 there will make me feel better."

Rey leaned forward, smiling at her friend. "She'll always be your child."

Poe gave a soft laugh and blinked several times before meeting her gaze. "I knew from the moment Ren said she was sensitive that I'd always be worried." He seemed to force a smile. "But she's been trained by the best." His eyes dropped to Rey's stomach, and the smile grew more genuine. "Get ready for the worry. But the joy is worth it."

* * *

Rey pulled off the last bacta patch and tossed it into the trash. She turned back to Kylo, giving a small gasp. The wounds, once gaping and bleeding and terrible smelling, had ebbed into angry red marks with bruises discoloring his skin. "Stars, I can never get used to how well bacta works." She pulled the synthflesh spray into her hand with the Force, holding it over the wounds.

"It healed my rib, so at least I can lie on that side again." Kylo's finger traced the discoloration. "I can put the spray on myself."

Rey rolled her eyes. "I grew up on Jakku, remember? I saw a lot worse without the tech to heal. I can handle a few measly bites, especially now they're like this."

"Ah, we've gone to dismissing rancors," Kylo laughed, taking his hand away from the healing wound. "I must be out of danger."

Rey pressed down on the can, watching the synthflesh spray over the cut on Kylo's thigh. It solidified into a thin gel, protecting the fragile new skin from further infection. "You'll never be out of the danger again if you keep being reckless."

She moved to the red marks on Kylo's hip, distributing the spray over them slowly. They were quiet for a while as she worked, enjoying each other's company, until Kylo broke the silence with a soft voice. "I think I'm more… anxious than I thought I was. About Leia." Rey looked up at him, but his eyes were on his fingers fidgeting with the blanket next to him. "I know it's no excuse, but that might be why – why I've been spending so much time around bacta tanks."

"And here I thought you just enjoyed the stuff." Rey laughed at his eye roll and pressed a hand to the side of his face. "No matter how many times you throw yourself into danger, you can't eradicate it all before she comes. We'll protect her and teach her to stand on her own."

He smiled softly and curled his fingers around hers, his eyes closing for a moment. "I know."

Rey pressed a soft kiss to his lips and then turned back to her task, spraying over the last piece of red skin. She set the spray can on the nightstand and looped around the bed to her side. Getting comfortable on her side, she watched Kylo settle against the headboard with his datapad. "You should sleep, Kylo. You've been exhausted since the bacta."

Kylo nodded, his hand tapping rapidly over the datapad. "I will in a minute. I've been securing our private information better since that reporter published about our finances."

Rey chewed her lower lip for a moment, watching her husband's strained face. "Did you ask Sonzy? He has a knack with technology sometimes."

Kylo paused before shaking his head. "No, but I will. Soon."

Rey let out a slow breath and closed her eyes, resting for a few moments before another thought came to mind. "You know, I don't think Zizz hacked us."

Kylo turned his head to her, raising an eyebrow. "Then how did he find out about my mother's credits going to me?"

Rey shook her head, focusing on the Force for a moment. "I… don't know. But something tells me that he found out some other way."

"Why does the public care how much I have? If I really wanted to use it, we would move to a much less nosy planet, but we put most of it toward the school, anyway." Kylo made a frustrated noise, his eyes shutting for a moment. "Those younglings _need_ an environment around other people like them, but we don't force them to stay. I don't understand why everyone has an opinion on strangers' lives. On _our_ lives."

Rey paused and squished a pillow under her head. "I think it's more the idea of beings who are different. Who can use sabers and lift things with their minds." She ran a hand lightly over Kylo's bare forearm. "Growing up, I always wished I could do what the legendary Luke Skywalker could."

"So, we're a distraction from the public's lives."

"Somewhat, I suppose, but you know we're more than that." Rey smiled up at him. "Maybe this interview will help the public see that we're not all that different from them. We have a family, and it's growing. We're normal, aside from, you know, the Force connection."

Kylo set the datapad on the nightstand and gave Rey a tired smile. "You always manage to see the positive side of things."

Rey grinned and swatted his shoulder lightly. "What other side is there, Mister Gloom and Doom?"

Kylo twisted to kiss her. "Just yours."


	16. Interview

Deep, even breathing that was not quite a snore came from the darkness in the room. The only light came from the security light that shone over the landing pad outside.

Rey's eyes followed a droplet of water sliding down the transparisteel. It joined with another until it hit the bottom of the window. The rain spattered over Poe's collection of ships, puddling in small dents of a vintage shuttle that he had not yet repaired. Light streaked across the sky, followed by a boom that seemed to rattle the transparisteel.

The even breathing that came from the bed hitched, and Rey turned her head to see Kylo shift under the covers. His head buried further into the pillow, and his breathing deepened again with a snore. Rey pulled her blanket tighter across her shoulders and felt her husband's presence through their bond. Since collapsing into bed after his final bacta treatment, he was nearing eleven hours of sleep. Rey was certain he had not slept that long in years, if not since childhood.

A loud crack accompanied another flash of light in the sky, making Rey jump. The rain pelted against the window, sounding almost like sand hitting the side of her old AT-AT home. The news had said their sector needed more rain, but she had not expected such a storm.

"Can't sleep?" Kylo sounded groggy, his voice low. Light from the window reflected against his one open eye.

Rey shook her head, staying in her chair. "Too much rest lately. And too excited for our outing tomorrow night."

Kylo gave a small smile and closed his eye. His exhaustion weighed at Rey's limbs through the bond. "Sleeping will pass the time faster."

Rey stayed in the chair but lifted her legs to rest her feet on the edge of the bed, shifting as her back ached with the movement. "I got comfortable here."

Kylo made a half-asleep groan. "Come back to bed."

"Go back to sleep."

Kylo's eye half opened. "Rey."

Rey let out a slow breath through her nose. "I… you didn't shower, Kylo. After the bacta tank."

The eye fully opened. "What?"

Rey pressed a hand over her mouth for a moment. "You smell like bacta, and apparently, Leia doesn't like it today."

Kylo raised his head, his eyes flicking to the chronometer. He ran a hand through his hair as he sat up. "You should've woken me."

"You never sleep that long. You needed it." At his next protest, Rey rolled her eyes and waved her hand toward the refresher. "I've slept enough the last few weeks, and you can't change my choice now. Go shower since you're up."

Kylo nodded and rose from the bed, still fully dressed apart from his shoes, and shuffled to the refresher. Rey looked back to the window, watching the rain hit the _Millennium Falcon._ The tarp over the still-broken viewport lay flat against the durasteel. A corner had folded back, and rainwater dripped into the port in a steady stream.

She decided she would wait to tell Kylo about until after their interview with Flash Zizz.

The shower turned off with a quiet squeak, and Rey finally pulled herself off the chair. She shoved Kylo's blanket off the bed and curled up under her heated blanket.

She was drifting off to sleep when she felt a strand of Kylo's damp – and much better smelling – hair brush across her face as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

* * *

"Yousa don't mind if I records?" Flash Zizz pulled a small vocorecorder from a bag and slid it onto the table between them. His long ears flapped with his excited movements, and he took a seat on the couch across from them, clutching a datapad.

Kylo shifted uncomfortably, but Rey slid her hand into his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She leaned back against the couch. "You may record, but this is as much of an exchange of information as much as an interview. We will trade questions."

Zizz nodded enthusiastically. "Yah, yah. It'sa not often we get to work with tha Jedi."

Kylo felt the Force around the Gungan suspiciously, but he could not sense any signs of malice. Then again, he had not initially felt any from the Twi'lek Kilnetel either.

Zizz leaned forward, his datapad poised to take notes. "Ida like to discuss the Jedi Order, your recent injury, and what everyone wants to know," he paused dramatically, his webbed fingers flared, "the baby."

Kylo exchanged a glance with Rey and nodded despite the tingle of anxiety from them both. "We reserve the right to refuse too personal questions."

Zizz appraised them for a moment, the dramatic look fading quickly. "Then I do, too." He tapped his datapad and looked up again. "The Jedi Order hasn't released a statement on your recent stay at the medcenter. What happened?"

Kylo pulled in a slow breath. His mother had taught him to answer politically and watch his words. This would be public, after all. "I was injured during an investigative mission, but I am now healed and back to my usual routine."

Zizz paused as if deciding which question to ask first. "What caused such an injury? Eyewitnesses at the medcenter say there was a lot of blood. Plus, you weren't seen at the Jedi Academy for a while, not until today if my sources are right. Did you have an extensive healing period?"

Kylo made a mental note to check the medcenter staff and droids. They were supposed to keep information private, but he supposed the right amount of credits or hacking could unearth information. "I'm afraid that's official Jedi Order business right now."

"The Order is rather secretive."

It was not a question, but Rey answered, "In some cases, we have to be."

Zizz looked to her and leaned forward as if he could sense her inexperience with politics and journalists. "Is that where two of your younger Jedi are now? Jedi business? They left the planet two days ago."

Kylo answered before his wife could. "Where did you learn that?"

Zizz flopped one of his long ears over his shoulder. "Official log of Coruscant arrivals and departures. Isa have alerts set for the Jedi movements."

Rey's eyes narrowed. "You realize reporting on our movements can be detrimental to what we're trying to accomplish? You're not exactly quiet about it."

Zizz fidgeted for a moment, and the Force rippled. "I, ah, do what my job'a requires me to. Articles on the Jedi get lots of downloads. A lot eyes around the galaxy. Yousa are celebrities, especially after that incident on Geonosis." He leaned forward. Kylo was not sure how a Gungan of all species could manage a conspiratorial look, but somehow the reporter pulled it off. "Were you injured on Geonosis? Is the First Order still active there even after what happened there a few months ago?"

Kylo rested his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands. "We were not on Geonosis. We will release a statement once we're finished with our business." He raised a hand to cut off Zizz's next question. "If this conversation proves useful, we will consider giving you that statement first. Now, I believe we get a question now."

Zizz blinked, his eyes flicking between Rey and Kylo. "Yousa haven't given mesa a usable answer."

"We said we'd give you answers. There was no stipulation on 'usable' ones."

Kylo locked eyes with Zizz for a long moment, during which he squeezed Rey's hand to keep his temper down. Zizz's bulbous eyes blinked, and his shoulders sagged. "Fine."

Kylo let out a breath, suddenly aware of the tension in his shoulders. "You wrote an article on my – _our –_ net worth. How did you get that information?"

Thin lips pulled over the Gungan's yellowed teeth. "Now, Master Kylo Ren, that's asking me to reveal my confidential source. That's _private_ _information_."

Kylo exchanged a look with Rey. "We've agreed to give you access to news from the Jedi Order before other news organizations, so you don't need that source anymore, Zizz."

The Gungan's long fingers played with the end of one of his ears. "Something tells me you won't give me the good stuff. This source knows a lot about your life, Master Ren, and considering how private you all tend to be, this is the only way I'll get it."

It took all of Kylo's willpower not to slap the Gungan or reach for his lightsaber. Rey, however, slammed her fist against the table between them, causing the vocorecorder to clatter to the floor. Her fury radiated through the bond. "We have a right to our privacy, or did you not understand the purpose of the Peace Day Festival? How we took down the First Order? I think saving the galaxy gives us a right to a life without you writing every detail!"

Zizz looked at Rey in shock, his eyes wide and his chest rising and falling rapidly, as if he had not expected the outburst from her. "H-How about three _useful_ answers, and I'll give you my source?"

Rey glared, and Kylo thought he heard her growl. "Not good enough."

Zizz slid on the couch so that he was closer to Kylo than Rey. "I'll give you my source _and_ never use her again. I-I-I swear." No one spoke, and Zizz looked between them. "And – and I'll stop writing personal articles about you."

Kylo ran a hand over Rey's shoulder, his own heart pounding in his chest. "Fine."

Zizz relaxed slightly, but his eyes kept darting to Rey's scowling face. "Thank you." He shifted and looked down at his datapad, which shook slightly. "The Jedi Order isa growing in numbers. Why are so many younglings turning up with Force abilities?"

"The Empire hunted down those with the abilities. The First Order was not actively looking for Force sensitives, not when they," Kylo cleared his throat, "when they had me. We're only now finding those and giving them an opportunity to develop and learn to control the Force, if they and their family agree to it."

Zizz jotted something on his datapad and spoke slowly as if afraid of provoking Rey's wrath again. "And will the next class of Padawans live with yousa as the previous ones have?"

"We moved because of the fire that destroyed the school. The next Padawans, who are a couple years from attaining that rank, will likely remain at the school, but we will closely mentor them as we did with our new Jedi."

Zizz leaned forward excitedly, his eyes on Rey again. "Last question, then. Do you have a name for the little one?"

Rey gave Kylo a small smile, and the fury finally began ebbing away. "We're naming her for Kylo's mother, General Leia Organa."

Zizz looked delighted, and he tossed an ear over his shoulder as he stood, grabbing his vocorecorder. "I thought you might. Isa mean, the rumors, but now. Oh, Isa need to go write."

"Ah." Kylo extended a hand, and Zizz looked like he had run into a wall. "Your source?"

The Gungan cleared his throat and turned back to Kylo with the look of a youngling caught stealing sweets. "Oh, of course. Yes." He tapped several times on his datapad. "This is her. Name's Kelda."

He held out a grainy image, one that looked like he had taken it very quickly while the woman's head was turned. But the resolution was enough for Kylo's blood to run cold.

He distantly heard Rey give Zizz a curt thanks and the Gungan's footsteps leave the room. Her hand wrapped around his upper arm, and he blinked several times to bring her into focus. "What, Kylo? Do you know this Kelda?"

"Her name's not Kelda." Kylo swallowed, feeling his hands inexplicably shaking. "It's Phasma."


	17. Outing

Finn sputtered and began coughing. Droplets of his drink flew across the _Falcon's_ cockpit and landed in water that covered the floor. Poe slapped him on the back, his wide eyes fixed on Kylo as he processed the information. It took nearly a minute before Finn choked out, "You're sure?"

Kylo pressed his lips together and nodded. His stomach twisted into a tighter knot. "Phasma's active and apparently feeding information to Zizz."

Poe frowned, his fingers playing with the damp fabric of the co-pilot's chair. "Accurate, up-to-date information?"

Kylo shrugged. "Some of his articles are from recent events he likely has seen himself, but he knew of the credits my mother left me. I've only ever told Rey that."

"Snoke," Finn's voice cracked, "must've known that somehow." At Kylo's raised eyebrow, he took a deep breath, only to start another coughing fit.

"He did know everything about you, right?" Poe handed Finn his own water bottle with another thump on his back. "That, or Phasma knows how to hack into the banking database, which I don't exactly see her doing just for a tabloid writer. You'd need a damn good codebreaker for that."

Finn nodded and pointed a Poe in agreement, taking a deep drink. He coughed again before saying, "It's possible she has a damn good codebreaker, if she's got enough connections."

Kylo raked a hand through his hair. "But what does she want and why is she suddenly active?"

"I don't think this is sudden." Finn's voice cracked, and he coughed again. "She probably didn't expect you to meet with Zizz or especially for him to show you a picture of her, hence the fake name. I'm guessing she's been active for a while, maybe even since Hux escaped the penitentiary but has been laying low." Finn finished the water and took a tentative breath, his voice stronger. "It might explain why not as many former Stormtroopers came back to the program after the… _debacle_ on Geonosis last year."

Poe sighed, his boots sloshing through the water as he examined the navigational system. "What does Rey think? Where is she anyway?"

"Teaching. Said she wanted to do something useful. And we haven't discussed it at length yet." Kylo cut off Finn's forthcoming remark with a wave of his hand. "It's just a mediation class. Nothing strenuous."

"Phasma." Finn leaned against the doorway, shaking his head. "Wasn't she in Agamar Penitentiary?"

"She was in Agamar for the first month I was there, but she caused enough trouble that she got sent to an Outer Rim detention center." Kylo sighed and turned to the control systems, forcing himself to banish the memories of that prison. Water had pooled in a dent and in the tracks of the hyperspeed levers. "Your tarp's a piece of shit, Dameron."

"I didn't think it would storm like that. But at least the nav system's working." Poe looked around the cockpit, looking as if he had broken a favorite toy. "We'll have to get a cleaning droid to get the water out. Or three."

Finn shook his head, his hands on his hips. "Where's she now? Phasma?"

"Zizz didn't know." Kylo's hand ran through his hair again. "I… I might _convince_ him to tell us before he sees her again."

"Yeah," Finn pressed his lips together for a moment, "but you've all sworn not to use mind tricks."

Kylo studied Finn's expression, casting out with the Force to feel the wariness in the former Stormtrooper. "I know, and I've abided by that oath, but I don't trust him to tell us even if we make a deal. For all we know, he's being blackmailed or has been threatened."

Poe leaned against cockpit door. "Set a droid to follow him, or I could ask my buddies at Coruscant Law Enforcement to tail him. Actually, I think Officer Bibble would be eager to help. He's been bugging me about helping the Jedi since the nightclub incident."

Finn visibly relaxed. "A tail might be better, at least to keep the Senate off your back."

Kylo nodded once, feeling the knot in his stomach loosen. "I agree." He ran his hand over the pilot's controls. Water droplets collected with his movement, pulling away from the console into a shimmering ball in midair. He stared at it, the reflection of his dark hair distorted into a black blob in the water. "How did Phasma escape without any word getting out?"

Poe poked the ball of water, his eyes wide. "How did you not tell us you could move water with the Force?"

* * *

"And then one – Juliana, I think? Jilania? The little Twi'lek? I need to ask her the pronunciation – asked if they could do a demonstration for parents." Rey laughed, flashing a grin over her shoulder at Kylo as she walked around a pair of men looking at the jewelry displayed at a booth. "I tell you, these younglings'll do big things."

Kylo gave her a small smile, wiping sweat from his forehead. "We could consider that. Might help public relations if parents could see what their younglings are learning. Although, it might just scare some of them." His feet sank into the surrounding sand as they left the small shopping area. He let out a long breath, feeling sweat run down his neck. He told himself it was from the heat and not from the dull ache in his legs from walking in the sand. "How did you stand this heat growing up?"

Rey took his hand, a tired expression on her flushed face. "I'm honestly not sure right now. Head back?"

He nodded silently, and Kylo's feet stabilized as they found the path. He made a mental note to do a training exercise on terrains other than hard ground.

Rey grinned up at him and laughed, her gaze running pointedly over his clothes. "Why did you wear that? You knew I would pick the desert environment."

"The rest of the planet is cold, and considering no other human is visiting this environment, it's too hot for _normal_ humans." Kylo glanced down at the grey and black fabrics. "I also don't really own anything else."

Rey snorted and squeezed his hand. "Well, I'm pregnant, and therefore not a _normal_ human."

Ahead, the boundary glowed a faint blue and gave a muted hum as they approached a gate. Rey held up a small card. It blinked green, and the gate slid open. They entered a wide hallway, and blissfully cool air hit Kylo's skin.

Rey breathed a sigh of relief and brushed some stray hairs from her face. "We need food."

She tugged Kylo gently down the hall, which was deserted apart from a few employees attending the gates leading to other environments. The environments were encased in transparent domes, allowing them to glimpse inside. One gate flashed a sign that read _Semiarid Desert._

The hall of gates opened into a large lobby area with more halls splitting off with signs such as _Aquatic Worlds_ and _Low Gravity._ A small line queued by the _Tropical Escapes_ hall. Above, advertisements on a holo display were periodically interrupted by _Welcome to Oa Park! Worlds Await_ or _Oa Park: Your Vacation at Home_.

A family of Twi'leks passed them, heading toward the exit. One of the parents half-dragged the smallest among them as the youngling whined, "But I wanted to swim in an aquatic world!"

The parent pulled the youngling out of Kylo's path with an exasperated sigh. "I told you to bring swim clothes, Hzrid."

Kylo watched the family, the youngling's argument with his father fading as they reached the exit, until Rey nudged him. "Got the credit module? I can get food if you want to sit."

Kylo handed her the credit module but frowned slightly, his brow pulling together. "Didn't you want to get something from a Naboo café in one of the moderate worlds?"

Rey wrinkled her nose and shook her head, already taking a step toward the concession stand in the middle of the lobby. "Nah. I smell chav here."

Kylo found an empty bench away from the other visitors milling about. Rey reached the concession stand and startled the teenaged employee who had been scrolling absently on a datapad.

Kylo cast with the Force out of habit. The other beings around felt normal: low levels of Force sensitivity along with emotions of either enjoyment and excitement or annoyance at family members. He wondered if his life would have looked like the Twi'lek family had he not been born with the Force. Married to someone with several younglings. Free of past trauma. No worries of harming a child due to his genetics or status.

But that reality would likely be without Rey.

"Uh, ahem, sir? Ah, Master Jedi?"

Kylo blinked as he was ripped from his thoughts and focused on a young, dark-haired woman who stood a meter away. She gave a tentative smile.

"I, uh, I-I, you- you're Master Kylo Ren, right?" At his wary nod, she took a half step forward and seemed to regret it. "I just wantedtothankyou."

Kylo stared, his mind taking longer than it should have to decipher her quick, jumbled words. After a long moment in which the woman seemed to become more nervous, he cleared his throat. "I, ah, you're welcome?"

The woman visibly relaxed and took a seat on Kylo's bench, albeit with a large space between them. "My wife was in the Coruscant Health building that day the shuttle crashed into it. You gave her enough time to get out with her patients." She gave a nervous smile and nodded across the lobby to where a Torguta woman was leaving a refresher while holding the small hand of a dark-haired youngling. "You're a difficult person to reach to extend thanks and, well, I saw you and just had to let you know you saved my family. I heard your wife got hurt. I hope she's all right."

Kylo almost forgot he should answer before he gave a small nod to Rey waiting at the concession counter. "Oh, uh yeah, she's fine."

The woman grinned, her joy upon seeing Rey radiating through the Force. "You'll have a youngling soon, too." She stood, her hand twitching nervously. "Can I… Could I shake your hand?"

Kylo hesitated; he had not worn gloves. But the woman's honesty rippled through the Force, and he extended his hand.

The Force seemed to tingle with pleasure as she gripped his hand firmly. "Thank you, Master Ren."


	18. Ilum

_Rey's boots sank into the moss-covered ground. Her fingertips ran over the bark of each tree she passed, and her feet seemed to pass through the roots and other obstacles in her path. Flashes of color between the trees should have made her wary, but something told her that the color belonged to something familiar. Something that felt like family._

_The trees lining her path gave way to a small clearing. Green covered everything, and sunlight streamed through the canopy of leaves. The air was still, as if the surrounding forest held its breath. She reached a hand toward the massive tree._

_A giggle made her pause, and she turned. A young girl with long, dark curls raced alongside a brunette boy. The two laughed and leapt over a thick root arching out of the ground._

_They ran around the figure of Kylo, who took a step toward her with the widest smile on his face. "Our family, Rey."_

_Rey turned to watch the younglings and found Jessika and Sonzy lounging on a tree root. They laughed at something and made room for Kaydel to sit beside them._

_Rey moved back to Kylo, feeling her own lips spread into a grin. "We have everything we've wanted."_

_Kylo's eyes widened slowly, and a look of fear replaced the smile on his lips. "Rey. Protect them."_

_Rey stepped toward him, worry flooding her veins. "Kylo, what – "_

" – _a normal life," Kylo whispered._

_Rey reached for his outstretched hand, but it only met air. In her husband's place stood a woman with short, white blonde hair._

_The green around her shriveled into black, dead foliage. The bodies of Rey's family lay across the ground._

_Phasma's face twisted into a sneer, and she snatched Rey's wrist, wrenching her to the ground. "Long live the Jedi."_

Rey sucked in a gasp of air, her arm swinging out instinctively. Kylo made a noise somewhere between pain and surprise as it connected with his chest. It took Rey a moment to get her bearings in the dark room, until the light next to Kylo's side of the bed flicked on.

"You all right?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Just a dream." Rey sat up slowly, her heart hammering in her chest. "You all right? I hit you."

"More of a shock than pain," he laughed. He rolled onto his side, brushing hair out of his eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rey rested her head against the wall, letting out a slow breath. "The tree." Kylo stiffened but did not say anything. She could feel his apprehension. Rey rubbed her hands over her face. "And Phasma."

Kylo took a deep breath and patted the bed next to him gently. "You're shivering."

Rey considered going to get a warm drink or even just taking a walk to clear her head, but something within her just wanted to be with Kylo. To make sure he was real. She slid back down with her back to him, and he wrapped an arm around her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. Rey leaned against him, the warmth of his body and the beat of his heart steadying her.

She thought Kylo had fallen back asleep when he whispered, "Come with me tomorrow."

"To Ilum?"

She felt his nod against her hair. "To Ilum. You can help me find a crystal, like we did after the war."

Rey moved her arm down to wrap her fingers around Kylo's hand that rested against her stomach. "Knowing our luck lately, it won't be as simple as getting a crystal."

He snorted softly. "All the more reason for you to come with me. You can keep me out of a bacta tank for once."

Rey laughed and turned her head to look at him. "Maybe you'll make smarter decisions with my help."

He grinned and kissed her briefly before falling back onto the pillow. "I can make smart decisions without you."

Rey rolled her eyes and turned her head back around. "You decided to fight a rancor and stop a shuttle from crashing into a building without me. Oh, and you also went after a rogue criminal Force user after he'd thrown pieces of wood into your chest."

Kylo huffed a laugh that sent a warm breath of air across her shoulder. "Yeah, I love you, too."

* * *

"We think it's connected to another ring headed by a Force user." The blue holo of Sonzy's face, projected from R2-D2, flickered. "Like the one Vanis had on Coruscant."

"Yeah, only this one's a lot smarter." The holo shook, and half of Jessika's face appeared. "For one, they're on a planet we're not. And another, we haven't found them since first detecting their presence."

Kylo leaned against the back of the co-pilot's chair, running a hand through his hair. "Do you think they're still on Imoco?"

The two Jedi glanced at each other before Sonzy replied, "We're thinking they're not. Imoco's probably just a middle ground to get some smuggled goods."

"Nothing on what was in that box from Coruscant?" At another shake of their heads, Kylo sighed heavily. "All right. We'll be landing on Ilum soon. We should be done by the time you get here, and we can decide our next steps."

"Actually, Master, we'd like to detour to Kamino." Jessika shrugged slightly. "There's a lot of random ships that take off from Imoco to Kamino."

"All right. Let us know what you find, and we'll plan from there." He paused, his finger hovering over the comm's button. "And, good work. Both of you."

The projection of Jessika and Sonzy's beaming faces faded away, and R2-D2 made a series of beeps.

Rey gave him a smile of her own from the pilot's chair. "R2's right, you old softie."

Kylo raised an eyebrow. "And you aren't?"

Rey chuckled and slowly pulled back on the hyperspeed control. The _Millennium Falcon_ shuddered slightly as it left hyperspace, giving them a view of a planet covered in ice. Rey pulled smoothly into the atmosphere.

Kylo climbed into the co-pilot's seat and pulled up the navigation. "About fifty klicks to the west." The system's sun sparkled on the ice until the _Falcon_ flew under a dense array of clouds. The Force seemed to hum on Ilum, as if welcoming back Jedi who had cared for it for centuries.

"Careful on the landing; it'll be covered in ice."

Rey hummed in acknowledgement, although he detected a hint of irritation. "I know how to fly, Kylo."

The _Falcon_ settled down in a flat stretch of ice. The first landing strut skidded a few meters before the other three hit the ground and stabilized the ship. Rey shot him a look that clearly said _don't say it_.

R2-D2 bleeped a series of complaints from the main hold.

It took them nearly ten minutes to bundle in thick coats, hats, and gloves, and to close the _Falcon's_ ramp _,_ leaving R2-D2 inside to keep the ship warm. The wind whipped at Kylo's face, and they huddled close together. Ahead loomed a solid expanse of an ice-covered rock, interrupted by a jagged cave opening.

A divot covered the expanse of rock above and beside the, and the ice leading to it was warped, forcing them to tread slowly to avoid slipping or twisting their ankles. The mouth to the cave itself had been artificially widened to fit vehicles. Evidence of the Empire's presence nearly a half century before.

Kylo's face warmed once they entered the cave, although the wind created eerie howls through the divots of rock. Light filtered through several holes in the ceiling high above, and rubble from what were once ancient statues lay by the walls. They climbed stairs that had been partially cut away into a ramp to enter another cave that expanded kilometers beyond what Kylo could see.

Rey pulled her saberstaff from her back and ignited one end to let the blue glow light their way.

Kylo cast out with the Force, feeling for the call of any crystal that might be in tune with him. "Sonzy and Eeth found their crystals last time pretty far in."

Rey nodded and wrapped her free, gloved hand around Kylo's. "Then let's get moving."

The few times Kylo had been in the crystal caves, the Force had always felt ancient, reflecting the thousands of Jedi that had passed through. Even with the Empire's excessive mining of the crystals to power their weapons, Kylo had never felt the strange nagging in the back of his mind as they sidestepped stalagmites and ducked under low ceilings.

They passed through a room in which Kylo had found his first crystal under Luke's guidance. The room split into three smaller corridors, and Kylo immediately took the center, trusting his instincts in the Force to guide him. They continued through several narrow passages that Kylo had to bend to Rey's height to traverse. His back protested after a few minutes, and he smacked his head against the low ceiling as he tried to alleviate the strain, making Rey jump with his yell of pain.

He let out a sigh of relief as he finally straightened in a huge chamber that could hold more than three of Finn and Poe's newly expanded home. Rey gave him an amused grin, although he saw her eyes flick to where his head throbbed.

Water dripped steadily into a pool of water. He stood in the middle of the chamber, casting out with the Force again.

"Your crystal should be in here." Rey raised her lightsaber, letting the light reflect off the water. "We can't go any further."

Kylo nodded slowly, chewing on his inner lip as he looked around the chamber. He pushed back the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. "The Force led me here, but I don't feel the call of a crystal."

"Maybe because you have your current crystal with you?"

Kylo took the lightsaber from his belt and used the Force to open the side of it. The purple crystal pulsed inside, the crack prominent across its surface. He pulled it from the encasing, holding it in his hand. His stomach twisted nervously.

"D'you feel that?" Rey turned toward the passage they had just traveled through.

Kylo's eyes stayed on his pulsing crystal. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. "Rey – "

"Something doesn't feel right." Rey activated the second blade on her staff.

"Rey, I don't think there are any kyber crystals here."

He finally looked up at her, and ice flooded his veins. Her fear raced through him. "Get your crystal back in your saber."

Kylo fumbled the crystal as the Force prickled through him. He dropped the saber and crystal to throw his hands out and stop the two blaster bolts in midair.

The light from the bolts illuminated the chamber better than Rey's lightsaber, casting the shadow of a lone figure by a pile of rocks near the pool's edge.

Kylo took a step toward the figure, letting the Force hold the bolts. "Show yourself!" The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

"Now, Ren, can't you tell you who I am?" The voice came not from behind the rocks but from the entrance to the chamber. "After all our time together? I'm offended."

The presence of several beings insensitive to the Force flooded his senses. They blocked the exit, some holding heavy blaster pistols and others with long pieces of equipment Kylo did not recognize. Black masks covered their faces. Phasma, standing in the front of the group, aimed a Stormtrooper's blaster pistol at Rey. "I'm surprised your _legendary_ abilities didn't alert you to us. But then again, you never seemed to care about things that didn't involve the Force."

Kylo tensed and shifted toward his wife. He held out his hand to call for his dropped crystal but froze as the cool barrel of a blaster pressed against the back of his neck.

"I don't think you need that, _Master_ Ren."

He could not feel the man behind him. But he recognized the voice. One that had haunted him for months. His heart seemed to drop into his stomach.

"Eeth."

Phasma stepped closer and kicked Kylo's disassembled saber behind her, the blaster still pointed at Rey. "Drop the lightsaber. I wouldn't want to find out how a stun affects that _youngling_ of yours."

Fury raged through both Kylo and Rey. Kylo's eyes darted to lock with Rey's for a brief instant. The frozen blaster bolts shot toward Phasma's group, forcing the tall woman to dodge to the side. Rey spun and swung her deactivated saber staff at Eeth's head, and the Zabrak collapsed to the chamber floor.

The blaster bolts had taken out two of the masked figures, but the others surged forward. Kylo pulled Eeth's blaster into his hand with the Force and took several shots at the oncoming masked figures. One fell. Then two more. Kylo squeezed the trigger again, but nothing happened. He used the Force to fling the blaster into the head of the closest figure and then Force shoved the dazed person into three more.

Rey stepped in front of him, her saber spinning to deflect bolts. They shot into the chamber ceiling, raining rock down on them. Kylo held out a hand and made a pulling motion to move Eeth's limp form out of the path of a falling stalactite.

For the second time in less than five minutes, a blaster pressed against the back of his neck. Phasma's cool voice hissed next to his ear, "Your _compassion_ will get you killed, Ren."

Rey held her saber up, the humming blue blade only a meter from both Kylo's and Phasma's heads. The blasters of the remaining four masked figures aimed at Rey. She exchanged another look with Kylo, but her fear laced through him. Phasma's group outnumbered them, and with the only exit blocked by blasters, they did not stand much of a chance of getting out unscathed.

Kylo cursed himself for not sensing the group earlier, for having his – albeit unreliable – lightsaber disassembled. He cast out with the Force, his mind racing to find a solution to this mess that did not end up with Rey or himself shot. He could sense Phasma's finger curling around her trigger and the uneasy excitement of the other people. And there. Something faint.

He locked eyes with Rey again and swallowed. "Did you follow us all this way to capture us? Why?"

"No, you were just an added bonus." The blaster pressed harder into Kylo's skin. "If you'll lower your weapon, _girl_ , no one needs to get hurt. Even though you haven't extended that courtesy to my people."

Kylo's stomach twisted, and he licked his lips. "Then why come to Ilum?"

Phasma shifted behind him and made a noise of frustration. "The lightsaber, Rey Solo. Or I shoot your husband."

Rey took a deep breath, her expression hard, but she only tightened her grip on her lightsaber. "You trust you can shoot him faster than I can drive this through your head? Me, a Force user?"

Phasma growled, and the Force screamed a warning through Kylo. He pulled on its energy and wrenched hard without thinking. The blaster ripped from Phasma's hand, smashing into a rock, and Phasma fell the opposite direction, splashing into the pool of water. Behind the masked figures, lightsaber blades of yellow and green sprang to life, taking down the remainder of Phasma's people.

Kylo picked up the pieces of his lightsaber, placing the cracked kyber crystal back into its place. His heart hammered in his chest. "Thought you were going to Kamino?"

Jessika and Sonzy approached, their lightsabers humming at their sides. "Something told us we we're needed here."

Kylo met Phasma's furious gaze as he stood next to the two Jedi. Rey held her own lightsaber to the woman's throat. "You're wrong, Phasma. My _compassion_ saved my life."


	19. Memories

"You and Kylo go to Ilum for a _crystal_ and come back with a cohort of _prisoners_." Poe shook his head and flipped the safety shield back over his face. He leaned back over the engine of his X-wing. "Stars. Jedi."

Rey snorted and shrugged. "At this point, nothing ever goes to plan. I didn't think Phasma would be the one to completely mess with it."

Poe's cutting torch glowed bright blue and hummed, drowning out the noises of the city around them. Rey dug her fingers into the package of Arkanis nuts and popped one into her mouth. Her leg swung, making her foot bump into the box she sat on. She idly wondered what life would be like without the Force. Or even just without an attempt on their lives every few months.

Poe flipped the safety shield up again and admired his work. "Can you bring the glowlamp down?" Rey waved her hand slowly through the air, and the floating glowlamp dropped a few centimenters. Poe nodded in thanks and flicked his gloved thumb over the newly repaired connecting rod. "Finn thinks she didn't intend to confront you."

Rey chewed her lip for a moment, tasting the salt from her nuts. "She was trying to get us to surrender." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. "And said she didn't want to see how a stun would affect Leia."

Poe leaned against the ship, playing with a hydrospanner in his hands. "I don't want to know that, either."

Rey shook her head and sighed. "No. I mean, yes, I agree, but that's not the point. She didn't want to kill us. She intended to capture us."

"Didn't you do the same?"

"But why not just kill us?" The image of Kylo standing with a blaster to his neck flashed through her mind, and her stomach twisted. She chewed on her lip again and played with the almost-empty nut wrapper. "We're probably in her way, whatever direction that is."

Poe set the hydrospanner down and put a hand over hers. "You all right?"

Rey gave him a grateful smile but shook her head. "She could've killed Kylo. Or severely incapacitated him."

Poe squeezed her hand. "But she didn't, and you guys won. I'm glad Jess and Sonzy made it to help." His face mirrored her own worry for a brief instant before he moved back to his X-wing. "When we found her in that rubble during the war, I didn't think she'd be such an incredible Jedi."

Rey smiled softly and crumpled her package of nuts. "I think Kylo did."

Poe's grin disappeared behind his face shield. The cutting torch flared to life again. Rey lifted her head to the sky, letting the Coruscant sun warm her face as she watched speeders race past. As much as she enjoyed living with their unconventional family, she wondered if Coruscant was the right place to raise her and Kylo's child. The city-covered planet did not offer much vegetation, not to mention the journalists that would follow them their entire lives.

The torch switched off, and Poe leaned against the X-wing. His face and tone gained a serious edge as he asked, "There were _no_ crystals on Ilum?"

"None."

* * *

Disjointed images flashed through Kylo's mind. A blaster, a sandy desert, chrome armor, Hux. And then an image of Rey, her body limp and lifeless on a dirty ground. He pulled back, horror racing through him as he collected his thoughts and convinced himself the last image was not real.

"That all you got, Ren?" Phasma bared her teeth at Kylo from across the table. Her nostrils flared, the only sign of exertion from the past half hour.

Kylo had no idea where she had learned it, but he had to admit that Phasma's resistance to his mind probe was one of the best he had encountered. Especially for someone without Force sensitivity. He pulled on the Force, checking that she did not have anything that would hide Force abilities. Nothing. He and the Reformed Republic authorities had checked her and taken all of her belongings, and he would have known during his time in the First Order.

No, Phasma, quite simply, knew him. She knew what information to throw at him to force him to retreat. His mother's death, himself ordering the deaths of villagers, the imagined death of his wife. She fed him images of items she knew extremely well before throwing something to affect his emotions. He could not get far enough in to understand her plans, and the cronies they had captured on Ilum knew nothing to help.

He should have come with Rey.

He glanced at Luke, who stood in the corner dressed in beige Jedi robes. His uncle gave a small nod, and Kylo felt the Force concentrate around him as Luke lent his support.

Kylo flexed his hand and focused the Force, sending another probe into Phasma's mind. He met the same image of a durasteel wall he had met in every attempt on her mind. He pressed it, manipulating the Force to bend and break the defense once again. Images flooded his mind. The chrome armor. Stormtrooper cadets. A blaster. And just as he sensed another painful image, he threw one of his own at her. His memory of Phasma in glowing cuffs around her wrists and ankles being pulled into a heavily armored transport.

He did not have many other memories, or knowledge for that matter, of Phasma that would emotionally affect her, but it was enough. Her concentration wavered just slightly.

A flash of a long, pale face with black eyes. And a tree.

* * *

Rey adjusted Arian in her arms and knocked twice on the tall, dark door. "Kylo? Are you all right?"

She glanced down the short hall. The Jedi Academy was quiet. Dim lights illuminated the corridor and outlined the doors to Luke's and her own offices identical to the one she stood in front. She could sense sleeping younglings a few floors above.

Arian pressed a small hand to the door, and Rey grinned at him. "Your dad's in there." Rey knocked again and waved her hand. The door slid silently to the side, and she let out a soft laugh.

Kylo's head rested on the desk, his breathing deep and even as he slept. His right hand drooped over his hair as evidence of its failed job to bear the weight of the Jedi's head. His other hand rested on a datapad, causing the screen to continuously flicker a request to re-verify the user. A stack of Luke's old texts lay to one side while the rest scattered around the desk haphazardly. An open one served as a pillow to Kylo's forehead.

Rey considered just letting her husband sleep, but he would complain about his neck for a week if she did. Gently, she nudged his shoulder and pressed on their bond to let him know who was waking him.

Kylo sucked in a breath, his head flying up. He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, Rey."

Rey pushed aside the stack of texts and sat on the corner of the desk, letting Arian sit next to her. "You know, the bed at home is much more comfortable."

A holo of Kylo and Rey standing by the _Millennium_ _Falcon_ not long after the war represented the only personal effect Kylo kept in his office. Arian leaned forward and waved his hand through it. Kylo gave the youngling a half smile and brushed some of Arian's dark hair from his face. "Why'd you bring Arian?

"He was crying when I got here and keeping his roommates awake." She raised an eyebrow at Kylo. "He calmed down when he realized I was taking him to you."

"At least someone likes me," Kylo chuckled softly. Arian beamed.

Kylo picked up the datapad and set it to a simple game before handing to the youngling to play. They watched him touch moving dots on the screen for a few quiet minutes until Kylo drew in a breath.

"You know that dream we've been having? Of the tree?" When Rey nodded, Kylo continued, "I saw it again. In Phasma's mind."

Rey froze halfway in her reach for a text. "What?"

"It was brief, but I don't think it was a fabrication. She knows that tree. And I think I've read about it." He gestured to the texts.

Rey grabbed the text on the top of the stack and flipped through it. "You think it's in these? Does Luke know?"

Kylo raked a hand through his hair. "He thought he did, but the book he checked didn't have anything. He's trying to see if he can get anything else out of Phasma right now."

Rey flipped another page and looked up at him. "Why didn't you call me to help? Or our young Jedi for that matter; they're alarmingly good at research."

Kylo laughed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his neck again. "I couldn't find anything on the Holonet, and I admit I didn't intend to fall asleep."

Rey set the text on the desk and let out a slow breath. The chronometer on the wall read nearly midnight. "We can continue this in the morning, Kylo, once we're refreshed."

Kylo hesitated, torn between rest and knowledge. "Rey, this is important. We should've listened to our dreams and learned about this tree earlier."

Rey gave him a dry look. "You'll just fall asleep again, and so will I."

His shoulders sagged, and he nodded once, throwing up a hand in surrender. "Fine, fine. You're right."

"I know." Rey slipped off the desk and turned to the Arian, who had abandoned the datapad. "Arian, that's not a toy!"

She did not know if the youngling heard her, but he did not look up from the text. The pages ripped as he flipped them with quick, imprecise movements. Rey grabbed him under the arms and pulled Arian into her arms. The text flopped from the little hands. "Let's get you to bed."

"Rey." Kylo's voice was soft, and she almost missed it. When she turned, she saw Kylo kneeling over the fallen text. "Arian found it."

He stood and brushed dirt from the pages. A faded drawing of a magnificent tree covered one page, a small rip in the upper corner marring the once-brilliant green leaves. Handwritten words, some too faded to make out, hugged the design in nearly even lines.

Rey tucked Arian on one arm and ran her index finger over a few of the words. "Can you read this? I only can make out a few words that look vaguely like Basic."

Kylo shook his head and pulled his datapad into his hand with a small wave of his fingers. He tapped the screen to exit out of Arian's abandoned game and pulled up a translation program. A light flickered from the datapad as it scanned the page. The program flickered several times, and then a block of Basic text appeared.

_The First Tree_

_Uneti trees – trees with deep connections to the Force – are descended from the First Tree. It is the belief of the Jedi Order that the First Tree was the first living organism to sense the Force at the beginning of the galaxy. Its roots grow vast and deep, imbuing both planet and tree with the Force. Like oxygen produced for a breathable atmosphere to many species, the First Tree seems to produce the Force. It nourishes the Force, sustains it for the galaxy. It is unknown if the Force will continue to connect all beings – or even exist – if the First Tree were to die. For this reason, the Jedi Order has kept the planet a secret from all but the highest Jedi Masters, who are sworn to take the location to their graves._

_Branches of the First Tree were carefully removed. Some branches were planted and nurtured at major Jedi locations while others were cryostored in safe locations._

Rey patted Arian's back as the youngling squirmed. "We've been dreaming of this First Tree?"

Kylo made a soft noise of affirmation, his eyes flicking between the datapad translation and the text. "Why was it in Phasma's mind?"

Although Luke's voice barely more than a whisper from the doorway, it seemed to ring through the room as the Jedi said, "She wants to destroy it."


End file.
